Three grid businesses in the United Kingdom have presented a proposal to convert the gas network in northeast England to hydrogen for a cost of 863 million pounds ($1.2 billion).

According to a feasibility assessment for the East Coast Hydrogen project, hydrogen may be utilized to feed 4.4 million households and as many as 39,000 industrial and commercial gas customers for around 13 pounds per family per year. By 2030, the project may link more than 7 gigawatts of production, surpassing the United Kingdom’s 5 gigawatt objective in a single location.

Hydrogen might be critical to the United Kingdom’s attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by altering how automobiles, companies, and houses are heated. According to government estimates, hydrogen might play a key role in supplying up to 35 percent of the UK’s energy consumption by 2050. The existing gas system may be used to transfer the fuel from the producing facilities to the end users.

According to the partners Northern Gas Networks Ltd., Cadent Gas Ltd., and National Grid Plc, East Coast Hydrogen can use natural gas assets in the North of England, including storage facilities.

According to the paper, “this is the first stage in converting our national gas system to hydrogen, and it will serve as a pattern for further conversions across the United Kingdom.” “In the future hydrogen economy, we will demonstrate the north’s ingenuity, engineering prowess, and opportunities by creating tens of thousands of highly skilled Green employment.”

The initiative attempts to reuse existing gas grids whenever possible, which is 20% less expensive than starting from scratch.