Wales & West Utilities will aim to support the UK Government’s decarbonisation plans by accelerating hydrogen blending technology with the company setting out a delivery plan to enable this.
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Through this plan, the company hopes to be able to achieve 20% hydrogen blending in its gas grid from as early as 2023 with Wales & West having already tested blending of up to 1% hydrogen in its existing grid in Swindon.
The plan to achieve this has been set out by the Energy Networks Association (ENA) in its Britain’s hydrogen blending Delivery Plan which also calls on the UK Government to double its production capacity by 2030 from 5GW to 10GW.
The plan sets out several key aspects including a new ‘Target 2023’ timeline that all five of Britain’s gas network companies will follow.
This will allow homes to benefit from hydrogen as a replacement for up to a fifth of the natural gas currently used, from the winter of 2023/4 onwards.
As well as this, the plan also includes two options that the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy should choose from for the energy infrastructure changes that need to be made to allow hydrogen blending to happen from 2023 – a Strategic Approach and a Free Market Approach.
The legal changes that must be made by Government and regulatory bodies across five key ‘Market Pillars’ are also set out in the plan to make sure gas network companies can start blending hydrogen into the gas grid from 2023.
Sarah Williams, Wales & West Utilities Director of Regulation & Asset Strategy, said, “Alongside the other UK gas networks we are committed to converting our existing safe and reliable gas network to transport green gases like hydrogen and biomethane which will help the UK get to Net Zero in a sustainable and affordable way, while minimising disruption to energy consumers.
“The 2020s must be a decade of delivery, where we put the research and development work that has been done on hydrogen into practice.”
Making hydrogen happen
This March, H2 View will explore A Climate for Action and Investment in Europe in an immersive event that features some of the leading stakeholders and influencers in hydrogen, as well as a return to in-person networking and the opportunity to meet the Women in Hydrogen driving the agenda forward.
Taking place in Munich, Germany, confirmed speakers already include the Hydrogen Council, Hydrogen Europe, Clean Hydrogen Partnership, FiveT Hydrogen, Airbus, Nel and Michelin.
Further information on the event, agenda and confirmed speakers can be found here.
To book your ticket, click here.