A pioneering project announced by Britain’s largest gas network companies will focus on the role hydrogen can play in helping London become net zero carbon by 2030.
Cadent, SGN, and National Grid Gas Transmission will collaborate to create a hydrogen vision for the capital, outlining the potential benefits and opportunities for London and the United Kingdom. These goals include lowering emissions, creating jobs and skills, increasing future energy independence, and providing more comfort to Londoners, particularly the most vulnerable.
The infrastructure companies will collaborate to produce a feasibility study for the transition of London’s gas network to hydrogen. They are responsible for the safe and reliable supply of gas to millions of customers.
The research is the first step in their Capital Hydrogen program for London and the South East, which consists of a series of projects that will last 15-20 years. The move to low-carbon hydrogen will help the Mayor meet his goal of making London carbon-free by 2030, as well as the UK government’s goal of being carbon-free by 2050.
The feasibility stage will determine how much hydrogen London will require over the next 30 years, as well as where it will be produced and stored and how it will be transported. It will look at how the gas grid can help with hydrogen distribution, both by blending it into the existing network and by developing dedicated infrastructure to deliver 100 percent hydrogen.
In the Thames Estuary, low-carbon hydrogen production and use have the potential to decarbonize the industry and nearby gas-fired power generators. The feasibility study will look at how gas networks can help connect production and demand in nascent energy hubs like Bacton in Norfolk and Southampton, and the identification of hydrogen demand in the capital will also help to stimulate production in nascent energy hubs like Bacton in Norfolk and Southampton.
The study will be completed in October 2022, and it will present perspectives from key stakeholders that the three energy companies will collect over the next six months. ERM and Element Energy are both supporting the project.
