H21- North of England Report

H21 North of England (H21 NoE) has been developed in partnership between Cadent, Equinor and Northern Gas  Networks. Equinor was considered a perfect partner for the onshore UK gas distribution industry to develop the H21 concept. The UK, like most other countries around the world, recognises the challenge of climate change. The UK has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% of their level in 1990 by 2050; this is a legal obligation defined under the terms of the UK Climate Change Act 2008. In 2018 the UK still need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 300 million tonnes per year (Mtpa) before 2050. This is a big challenge that requires big and realistic solutions – H21 NoE is such a solution. Climate change is one of the most significant technical, economic, social and business challenges facing the world today. H21 NoE presents a detailed engineering solution for converting the gas networks across the North of England to hydrogen between 2028 and 2034. This would provide deep decarbonising of 14% of UK heat and become the world’s largest CO2 emissions reduction project achieving 12.5Mtpa of CO2 avoided to the atmosphere. The project also sets out how to decarbonise 70% of all UK meter points by 2050 using a six-phase regional hydrogen rollout strategy. Based on credible, proven at scale technology and a strong industry supply chain, H21 has the potential to replace all UK natural gas with hydrogen for deep decarbonisation of residential, commercial and industrial heat, power generation and transport by 2050.
A link to the report can be accessed here.