United Kingdom

Achieving the UK's net zero target by 2050 will be a challenge. Hydrogen can make a substantial contribution but it needs investment and policy support to establish demand increase the scale of deployment and reduce costs. The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution confirms the government’s commitment to drive the growth of low carbon hydrogen in the UK through a range of measures. This includes publishing its hydrogen strategy and setting out revenue mechanisms to attract private investment as well as allocating further support for hydrogen production and hydrogen applications in heating.

We have created a bespoke model to help understand the cost of hydrogen in the UK across the value chain under different pathways. Our analysis highlights areas for cost reduction and identifies factors that could make hydrogen more attractive to investors.

You can read the full report on the Deloitte website at this link

In future energy supply systems hydrogen and electricity may be generated in decarbonized industrial clusters using a common infrastructure for natural gas supply electricity grid and transport and geological storage of CO_2. The novel contribution of this article consists of using sequential combustion in a steam methane reforming (SMR) hydrogen plant to allow for capital and operating cost reduction by using a single post-combustion carbon capture system for both the hydrogen process and the combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant plus appropriate integration for this new equipment combination. The concept would be widely applied to any post-combustion CO₂ capture process. A newly developed rigorous gPROMs model of two hydrogen production technologies covering a wide range of hydrogen production capacities thermodynamically integrated with commercially available gas turbine engines quantifies the step change in thermal efficiency and hydrogen production efficiency. It includes a generic post-combustion capture technology – a conventional 30%wt MEA process - to quantify the reduction in size of CO₂ absorber columns the most capital intensive part of solvent-based capture systems. For a conventional SMR located downstream of an H-class gas turbine engine followed by a three-pressure level HRSG and a capture plant with two absorbers the integrated system produces ca. 696400 Nm3/h of H₂ with a net power output of 651 MWe at a net thermal efficiency of 38.9%LHV. This corresponds to 34 MWe of additional power increasing efficiency by 4.9% points and makes one absorber redundant compared to the equivalent non-integrated system producing the same volume of H₂. For a dedicated gas heated reformer (GHR) located downstream of an aeroderivative gas turbine engine followed by a two-pressure level HRSG and a capture plant with one absorber the integrated system produces ca. 80750 Nm3/h of H₂ with a net power output of 73 MWe and a net thermal efficiency of 54.7%LHV. This corresponds to 13 MWe of additional power output increasing efficiency by 13.5% points and also makes one absorber redundant. The article also presents new insights for the design and operation of reformers integrated with gas turbines and with CO₂ capture.

Biofuels from biomass gasification are reviewed here and demonstrated to be an attractive option. Recent progress in gasification techniques and key generation pathways for biofuels production process design and integration and socio-environmental impacts of biofuel generation are discussed with the goal of investigating gasification-to-biofuels’ credentials as a sustainable and eco-friendly technology. The synthesis of important biofuels such as bio-methanol bio-ethanol and higher alcohols bio-dimethyl ether Fischer Tropsch fuels bio-methane bio-hydrogen and algae-based fuels is reviewed together with recent technologies catalysts and reactors. Significant thermodynamic studies for each biofuel are also examined. Syngas cleaning is demonstrated to be a critical issue for biofuel production and innovative pathways such as those employed by Choren Industrietechnik Germany and BioMCN the Netherlands are shown to allow efficient methanol generation. The conversion of syngas to FT transportation fuels such as gasoline and diesel over Co or Fe catalysts is reviewed and demonstrated to be a promising option for the future of biofuels. Bio-methane has emerged as a lucrative alternative for conventional transportation fuel with all the advantages of natural gas including a dense distribution trade and supply network. Routes to produce H2 are discussed though critical issues such as storage expensive production routes with low efficiencies remain. Algae-based fuels are in the research and development stage but are shown to have immense potential to become commercially important because of their capability to fix large amounts of CO₂ to rapidly grow in many environments and versatile end uses. However suitable process configurations resulting in optimal plant designs are crucial so detailed process integration is a powerful tool to optimize current and develop new processes. LCA and ethical issues are also discussed in brief. It is clear that the use of food crops as opposed to food wastes represents an area fraught with challenges which must be resolved on a case by case basis.

Many railway vehicles use diesel as their energy source but exhaust emissions and concerns about economical fuel supply demand alternatives. Railway electrification is not cost effective for some routes particularly low-traffic density regional lines. The journey of a regional diesel–electric train is simulated over the British route Birmingham Moor Street to Stratford-upon-Avon and return to establish a benchmark for the conceptual design of a hydrogen-powered and hydrogen-hybrid vehicle. A fuel cell power plant compressed hydrogen at 350 and 700 bar and metal-hydride storage are evaluated. All equipment required for the propulsion can be accommodated within the space of the original diesel– electric train while not compromising passenger-carrying capacity if 700 bar hydrogen tanks are employed. The hydrogen trains are designed to meet the benchmark journey time of 94 min and the operating range of a day without refuelling. An energy consumption reduction of 34% with the hydrogen-powered vehicle and a decrease of 55% with the hydrogen-hybrid train are achieved compared with the original diesel–electric. The well-to-wheel carbon dioxide emissions are lower for the conceptual trains: 55% decrease for the hydrogen-powered and 72% reduction for the hydrogen-hybrid assuming that the hydrogen is produced from natural gas.

Integrated energy systems have become an area of interest as with growing energy demand globally means of producing sustainable energy from flexible sources is key to meet future energy demands while keeping carbon emissions low. Hydrogen is a potential solution for providing flexibility in the future energy mix as it does not emit harmful gases when used as an energy source. In this paper an integrated energy system including hydrogen as an energy vector and hydrogen storage is studied. The system is used to assess the behaviour of a hydrogen production and storage system under different renewable energy generation profiles. Two case studies are considered: a high renewable energy generation scenario and a low renewable energy generation scenario. These provide an understanding of how different levels of renewable penetration may affect the operation of an electrolyser and a fuel cell against an electricity import/export pricing regime. The mathematical model of the system under study is represented using the energy hub approach with system optimisation through linear programming conducted via MATLAB to minimise the total operational cost. The work undertaken showcases the unique interactions the fuel cell has with the hydrogen storage system in terms of minimising grid electricity import and exporting stored hydrogen as electricity back to the grid when export prices are competitive.

This paper presents a study undertaken on a naturally aspirated direct injection diesel engine investigating the combustion and emission characteristics of CH₄-CO₂  and CH₄-CO₂ -H₂ mixtures. These aspirated gas mixtures were pilot-ignited by diesel fuel while the engine load was varied between 0 and 7 bar IMEP by only adjusting the flow rate of the aspirated mixtures. The in-cylinder gas composition was also investigated when combusting CH₄-CO₂ and CH₄-CO₂-H₂ mixtures at different engine loads with in cylinder samples collected using two different sampling arrangements. The results showed a longer ignition delay period and lower peak heat release rates when the proportion of CO₂ was increased in the aspirated mixture. Exhaust CO₂ emissions were observed to be higher for 60 CH₄:40CO₂ mixture but lower for the 80CH₄:20CO₂ mixture as compared to diesel fuel only combustion at all engine loads. Both exhaust and in-cylinder NO_x levels were observed to decrease when the proportion of CO₂ was increased; NO_x levels increased when the proportion of H₂ was increased in the aspirated mixture. In-cylinder NO_x levels were observed to be higher in the region between the sprays as compared to within the spray core attributable to higher gas temperatures reached post ignition in that region.

Emissions from natural gas combustion and use are the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the UK. The use of hydrogen in place of natural gas in principle offers a potential route to long term widespread decarbonisation of gas distribution networks as shown by the Leeds City Gate (‘H21’) study.1 The purpose of considering conversion to hydrogen is to deliver widespread carbon abatement across the UK at lower cost than alternative decarbonisation strategies.<br/>The Government is to finalise and publish the long-awaited ‘Clean Growth Plan’ along with an Industrial Strategy White Paper in Autumn 2017. Conversion from natural gas to hydrogen potentially on an incremental basis would likely represent a major opportunity for new industrial growth. This might be through the longer term stability or potential expansion of existing (newly decarbonised) energy intensive industry or through business opportunities and growth created from new technologies developed to facilitate the transition to hydrogen as the UK becomes a global leader and major exporter of equipment and skills. Job creation and the resulting gross value added (GVA) to the economy could therefore be significant in delivery of the goals of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF).<br/>The core requirement is to supply low carbon hydrogen in bulk matching production to distribution network demand at an affordable cost. The H21 study concluded that to do so reliably hydrogen is best produced by reducing natural gas in steam methane reformers (SMRs) fitted with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). The study proposed that the considerable inter-seasonal and daily fluctuations in network demand can be managed by storing hydrogen in underground salt formations. It concluded that the SMRs with associated carbon dioxide (CO2) capture should be located near to where CO2 transport and storage infrastructure was likely to be created and noted that candidate locations for this are Teesside Humberside Grangemouth and the Liverpool-Manchester (L-M) area. Two of these Humberside and the L-M area are within the Cadent Gas Ltd (‘Cadent’) network and are also industrial ‘clusters’ with significant populations.<br/>The work reported here builds upon the approach proposed in the H21 project by focussing on defining ‘low carbon’ hydrogen supply and distribution systems in Humberside and the L-M area at a system scale sufficient to supply a large city.2 Both the Humber and L-M clusters are close to salt deposits which are suitable for both daily and inter-seasonal storage of hydrogen (for initial or expanded projects). Furthermore new large-scale gas Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) plants widely assumed as likely anchor projects for CCS infrastructure have been consented in both cluster areas confirming that they are both strong candidates as locations for the first CCS clusters and hence as locations for a hydrogen supply system.

<br/>The decarbonisation of heating represents a transformative challenge for many countries. The UK’s net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target requires the removal of fossil fuel combustion from heating in just three decades. A greater understanding of policy processes linked to system transformations is expected to be of value for understanding systemic change; how policy makers perceive policy issues can impact on policy change with knock-on effects for energy system change. This article builds on the literature considering policy maker perceptions and focuses on the issue of UK heat policy. Using qualitative analysis we show that policy makers perceive heat decarbonisation as disruptive technological pathways are seen as deeply uncertain and heat decarbonisation appears to offer policy makers little ‘up-side’. Perceptions are bounded by uncertainty affected by concerns over negative impacts influenced by external influences and relate to ideas of continuity. Further research and evidence on optimal heat decarbonisation and an adaptive approach to governance could support policy makers to deliver policy commensurate with heat decarbonisation. However even with reduced uncertainty and more flexible governance the perceptions of disruption to consumers mean that transformative heat policy may remain unpopular for policy makers potentially putting greenhouse mitigation targets at risk of being missed.

"Hydrogen is expected to play a critical role in the move to a net-zero economy. However large-scale deployment is still in its infancy and there is still much to be done before we can blend hydrogen in large volumes into gas networks and ramp up the production that is required to meet demands of the energy transport and industry sectors. KTN Global Alliance will host two webinars to explore these challenges and opportunities in hydrogen blending on the 2nd and 3rd March 2021.



Exciting pilot projects are being conducted and explored in the UK Canada and US states such as California to determine the technical feasibility of blending hydrogen into existing natural gas systems. Whilst the deployment of hydrogen is in its early stages there is increasing interest around permitting significant percentage blends of hydrogen into gas networks which would enable the carbon intensity of gas supplies to be reduced creating a new demand for hydrogen and with the use of separation and purification technologies downstream support the transportation of pure hydrogen to markets.

Gaps in codes and standards need to be addressed to enable adoption and there may be opportunities for international collaboration and harmonisation to ensure that best practices are shared globally and to facilitate the growth of trade and export markets. There is an opportunity for the UK Canada and US three G7 countries to work together and show market making leadership in key enabling regulation for the new hydrogen economy.



Delivered by KTN Global Alliance on behalf of the British Consulate-General in Vancouver and the UK Science and Innovation Network in Canada and the US these two webinars will showcase hydrogen blending pilot projects in the UK Canada and California highlighting challenges and opportunities with regard to standards development for hydrogen blending and supporting further transatlantic collaboration in this area. The events also form part of the UK’s international engagement to build momentum towards a successful outcome at COP26 the UN climate summit that the UK will host in Glasgow in November 2021. The webinars will bring together experts from industry academia and policy from the UK Canada and California. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions and interact using Mentimeter."











Part 2 Highlights and Perspectives from Canada and California can be found here.

Cleavage of aromatic ether bonds through hydrogenolysis is one of the most promising routes for depolymerisation and transformation of lignin into value-added chemicals. Instead of using pressurized hydrogen gas as hydrogen source some reductive organic molecules such as methanol ethanol isopropanol as well as formates and formic acid can serve as hydrogen donor is the process called catalytic transfer hydrogenolysis. This is an emerging and promising research field but there are very few reports. In this paper a comprehensive review of the works is presented on catalytic transfer hydrogenolysis of lignin and lignin model compounds aiming to breakdown the aromatic ethers including α-O-4 β-O-4 and 4-O-5 linkages with focus on reaction mechanisms. The works are organised regarding to different hydrogen donors used to gain an in-depth understanding of the special role of various hydrogen donors in this process. Perspectives on current challenges and opportunities of future research to develop catalytic transfer hydrogenolysis as a competitive and unique strategy for lignin valorisation are also provided.