The ‘old normal’ involved oil, gas and coal as the basis for power, heating, industry and transport. All this must change if the UK is to meet its net-zero obligations. The ‘new normal’ will involve increasing amounts of hydrogen to decarbonise domestic heating and industry, as well as complement other options for transport and power. This needs to come from low-carbon hydrogen, with key geographical areas such as Scotland leading the way in the production of both its blue and green forms. 

While progress is being made in decarbonising power generation through renewables and transport through electric vehicles, about half of the UK’s energy needs are for heating. This is almost all delivered by gas or oil, and little progress has been made in its decarbonisation. 

Potential exists for some oil and gas heating to be converted into electric heating—using technology such as air source heat pumps integrated with local renewables—but much of it will be delivered by hydrogen. Hydrogen can directly displace gas and enable continued use of domestic gas-based central heating boilers. These would be converted to run on hydrogen or replaced. This approach provides the opportunity to convert the existing gas infrastructure, such as the gas distribution system, for use with hydrogen. The UK’s National Grid and the regional gas distribution companies are all developing hydrogen-based projects to progress this transition.

Curtailing gas production early is only an option if we are willing to forgo domestic heating and shut down much of our industry

The future demand for hydrogen or hydrogen-blend heating is unknown because we do not know how total demand for heating will be divided among all the possible solutions, such as electrified heating. The same could be said for the use of hydrogen for power, transport and industry. My view is that both hydrogen and electrification will be required and must be progressed with urgency. The relative balance between these energy technologies will only become apparent with time.

Hydrogen is a key part of the energy transition as a new energy vector and can replace gas. In the short term it can connect the electrical and gas grids, providing a low-carbon energy medium that can be produced by multiple means and used in many applications. Hydrogen can be stored and transported in the same way as existing energy vectors. The development of bulk hydrogen, stimulated by the need to decarbonise heating, will also enable the widespread application of hydrogen for industry, transport and, where required, power.

Green hydrogen requires large amounts of renewable power. This means it is in competition with all other sources of demand for renewable electricity, which may have similar decarbonisation benefits. Both green hydrogen and electrification generally are important, so, in the short term, production projects should be progressed in parallel and with suitable urgency.

Blue hydrogen can be produced in large quantities in the near term, enabling significant early carbon reduction to displace gas. Some would argue that this just prolongs the production of gas, but that is missing the point. The key is to reduce emissions, and urgently. By removing CO₂ at the gas terminal before distribution, bulk hydrogen can be injected into the gas grid, decarbonising it in the 2020s. 

In the fullness of time, large-scale green hydrogen can displace blue hydrogen—itself a transition fuel—providing a fully renewable hydrogen system. But if we wait for the scale of green hydrogen required to displace gas, net-zero emissions by 2050 will not be achieved. Curtailing gas production early is an option only if we are willing to forgo domestic heating and shut down much of our industry, neither of which are likely to be acceptable to society.

Offshore hydrogen production from floating wind has the potential to transform energy supplies around the globe, with scale-up over the coming decades to replace gas as an energy source.

50,000t/yr - Acorn Hydrogen production by 2025

Several projects are underway to achieve this vision in the north of Scotland, developing both blue and green hydrogen. Acorn Hydrogen is a large-scale blue hydrogen project being developed at the St. Fergus gas terminal, north of Aberdeen, where 35pc of the UK’s gas comes ashore. By 2025 the plan is to reform gas and produce 50,000t/yr of hydrogen, while at the same time capturing and permanently sequestering 440,000t/yr of CO₂, which would otherwise be emitted at the point of use.

The Aberdeen Vision project is planning to build a new hydrogen pipeline from St. Fergus to Aberdeen. This will enable the transformation of the Aberdeen regional gas distribution system to hydrogen, first at 20pc hydrogen and then at 100pc. At 20pc hydrogen, appliances can continue to operate without change. At 100pc, appliances will need modifying or replacing. This transformation, including domestic appliances, will be equivalent to the transition from town gas—which is ironically mainly hydrogen—in the 1970s. By 2030, Aberdeen will be the first city in the UK to have a hydrogen gas system.

A series of scalable green hydrogen projects are also under development in a separate area of the east Scottish coast, in the Highland region’s Cromarty Firth.

Applications include regional hydrogen transport, the decarbonisation of heat for domestic and industrial use and the potential for exporting hydrogen to other regions and countries. 

Highland Scotland is rich in renewable energy both onshore and off, and provides a means to unlock the energy potential of the north of Scotland. Offshore Aberdeen, the Dolphyn Project is assessing the potential for producing hydrogen from floating offshore wind turbines. This demonstration project has the potential to transform green hydrogen production capacity by enabling large-scale hydrogen production in remote and deepwater locations. This could then be transported by subsea pipeline or by ship direct to key industrial locations. 

Together, these developments, along with other hydrogen projects along the east coast of Scotland—Orkney, Aberdeen and Fife—make up what we call Scotland’s Hydrogen Coast. Scotland has massive potential for hydrogen to transition its own energy needs and for export to other regions. The new normal will include a major transition to hydrogen alongside renewables. 

By Sam Gomersall, Hydrogen Champion, Pale Blue Dot Energy Limited

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Author: Sam Gomersall