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NGN Welcomes Government Announcements On Hydrogen Development

Recent Government announcements for further exploration of hydrogen’s role in reaching the UK’s net zero ambitions are vital to understanding its challenges and opportunities, the Chief Executive of one of Britain’s gas distribution networks has said today.

In the last two weeks, the Government has confirmed almost £3m in funding for nine projects as part of its Industrial Hydrogen Accelerator (IHA) programme and launched a £20m competition for industry to harness the power of hydrogen in new transport projects in the Tees Valley.

Mark Horsley

Mark Horsley, Chief Executive of Northern Gas Networks (NGN), the gas distributor for the North, said the funding was vital to allow for greater understanding of hydrogen’s role in future energy needs across a number of sectors.

“The UK faces a number of energy challenges, in terms of cost, supply, energy security and climate change. We know that hydrogen presents a real opportunity to help achieve net zero by 2050, while also stimulating job creation and green growth, but we also know there are challenges to meet and more work needs to be done.

“The latest announcements from the Government are welcome, as they allow for further development and understanding of the potential that hydrogen presents. We’re particularly pleased, of course, that the Tees Valley will be playing such a central role in this.”

In May, NGN announced plans to bring hydrogen for heating and cooking to some areas of Redcar, Teesside, after it was given the go ahead by the Government and Ofgem to develop proposals to create the UK’s first hydrogen village.

The proposal involves switching the gas supply from natural gas to clean burning hydrogen for around 2,000 homes and businesses in parts of Redcar including the town centre, from 2025, with a decision about whether the project will progress expected in 2023.

Tees Valley will host a new £20 million competition, where successful bidders will push the boundaries of hydrogen to see how it can be used to create a cleaner and more efficient transport sector.

As part of the £20 million transport competition, run by Innovate UK, businesses and research groups will collaborate to discover how hydrogen can be used as a reliable fuel source. The competition will address challenges such as refuelling on a large scale, and how to make the supply chain greener.

The Government says that, as the technologies develop, the research from this competition will help bring about the large-scale production of low-carbon hydrogen, which could also reduce the nation’s reliance on imported fossil fuels.

Meanwhile, the Government has said it will use evidence from the Industrial Hydrogen Accelerator programme to inform strategic decisions in 2026 on the role of low carbon hydrogen as a replacement for natural gas in the gas grid.

Northern Gas Networks is carrying out several projects exploring how hydrogen can be used to heat homes and businesses, including two demonstration ‘hydrogen homes’ at a site near Gateshead. The homes are heated by hydrogen boilers and are also fitted with hydrogen hobs and fires.

“Our pioneering hydrogen demonstration projects are providing evidence to show that hydrogen can help to decarbonise heat, and continue to give customers choice in the type of energy keeping them warm,” said Mr Horsley.

“The hydrogen homes are showcasing appliances showing how it could be part of people’s daily lives with little change or disruption required in the home.

“We believe there are around 8-12 million homes in the UK that could be heated by clean burning hydrogen, but we know there is still work to do to provide as much evidence as possible to support this.

“The work from the IHA programme is a vital piece of that jigsaw.”

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