UK Trials Innovative Hydrogen Heating and Storage Project

The British government has committed to increasing clean hydrogen production to 10GW by 2030. To reach that goal, it will have to back various projects across the country. One of these has just been unveiled: a hydrogen pilot centred around industrial use.

Buildings and industrial processes account for around a third of carbon emissions across Europe so that is an important sector to decarbonize. Hydrogen is one of the energy carriers that will be needed to accomplish this.

Now several companies have come together to trial a 100% hydrogen commercial boiler in a unique containerised heating system: “Heat in a box”. Gas utility Northern Gas Networks (NGN), equipment supplier Baxi, and boilermaker Remeha, together with AI software creator H2GO Power, have created a green system which uses solar power to create hydrogen, store it, and supply heating. The project is being tested at an NGN facility in Gateshead in the North of England.

This pilot is part-funded by the UK government's £1bn ($1.23bn) Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, which aims to accelerate the commercialisation of innovative clean energy technologies and processes throughout the 2020s and 2030s.

The system has been designed for maximized energy efficiency, low maintenance, and to secure carbon-free and safe operation. The AI-based energy management system (HyAI) optimizes the process. The end goal is to decarbonize a range of energy-intensive heating processes including cement production, glass, ceramics, chemical, food and drink, and paper and pulp making. It could also deliver low-carbon heating to public buildings such as schools, hotels or leisure centers. As companies generate more of their own power from renewables, this system, if it operates effectively, will help them maximize their usage of self-produced electricity, rather than using the national grid.