The boilers, manufactured by BDR’s Dutch group Remeha, have been supplied with hydrogen via an existing natural gas grid, partnering up with Alliander.

The three-year pilot will take place on listed houses, each being supplied boilers that burn pure hydrogen with zero carbon emissions.

Bertrand Schmitt, CEO of BDR Thermea Group, said, “Decarbonising buildings is an urgent imperative, and hydrogen is one of the key technologies to do this.”

BDR’s parent company Baxi have committed to being carbon neutral across all operations by 2025 and their boilers are being used for the world’s first green hydrogen-to-homes heating network pilot in the UK, 2025.

The network pilot will involve 300 homes in Levenmouth, Fife, and are set to be used for the UK’s first ‘hydrogen village’ in Whitby, Ellesmere Port.

The UK Government target a ‘hydrogen heated town’ by the end of the decade, stating in the Hydrogen Strategy, “We anticipate that if the case is made for wide scale conversion of the gas grid to full hydrogen, it would begin with converting a pilot town in the late 2020s and accelerate from the early 2030s.”

Read more: Hydrogen has ‘vital role’ in decarbonising homes

Karen Boswell, Managing Director at Baxi UK and Ireland, commented, “The pilot in Lochem demonstrates our ongoing commitment to exploring installer-friendly home heating solutions for the future.

“We recognise the important role a hydrogen-compatible grid could play in decarbonising UK homes and will use insights from this pioneering trial to accelerate that drive,” she added.

Baxi are participating in the Government funded Hy4Heat programme, which will see the manufacturer showcase prototype hydrogen boilers in Low Thornley.

European Heating Industry research shows that a mix of heating technologies is the fastest way to cut natural gas emissions in 2030 by 45%, generating an aggregate cost benefit of over EUR 520 billion until 2050.

Read more: Fuel for thought: Is hydrogen the solution to net-zero home heating?