Future Energy Networks

Significant efforts are required to support the transition of our energy systems moving away from carbon-intensive fuels such as coal, diesel, petrol and gas, towards cleaner sources of power generation such as wind, solar, nuclear and hydrogen. There is a potential for hydrogen to play a hugely significant role in our energy system, the extent of which will be driven by a range of factors, including the ability to transport it to where it is needed. There have been recent positive decisions for hydrogen’s potential uses in blending, transportation, domestic heating and industry. To produce sufficient hydrogen to meet this potential need, it will be important to increase and diversify hydrogen production methods.

As nuclear is a reliable and consistent source of clean energy that is unaffected by external factors such as the weather, Northern Gas Networks and Wales and West Utilities would like to investigate the possible use of nuclear power as a method of delivering the future increased demand in hydrogen production. This project will explore the opportunity for hydrogen production from nuclear to support a net zero transition across the gas network.

Benefits of nuclear-enabled hydrogen (NEH) in the context of gas distribution networks (GDNs) will be explored, building on the established benefits of nuclear energy production.

The overall project outcome is that NGN, WWU, and other stakeholders are sufficiently informed to determine whether further investment and integration of nuclear-enabled hydrogen to transition plans are justified, and how a potential first project could take its next step to deployment through securing technology licences, sites, off takers and financing.

This study examined options for making progress on domestic heat decarbonisation, against an ongoing backdrop that most consumers in GB have not chosen to install heat pumps. The study finds that forcing consumers to do so is likely to increase costs for everyone and spark backlash against climate policy. The paper sets out the parameters for a more flexible pathway, which supports technologies, including hybrid heat pumps, based on emissions and cost savings. The core finding is that by allowing consumers to transition more gradually to newer technologies, this approach offers a lower-cost and more voter-friendly (and therefore deliverable) pathway to net zero.

The UK’s biomethane sector faces challenges due to the diverse and non-standardized grid entry requirements across different Gas Distribution Networks (GDNs). This variability leads to increased costs, complexity, and lead times for biomethane projects, hindering the industry’s growth and efficiency.

The transition from natural gas to hydrogen introduces new material challenges within the context of the GB gas network. One critical concern is hydrogen embrittlement, particularly in 17-4 Precipitation Hardened (PH) Stainless Steel, commonly used in axial flow regulators and other key gas network components like valve stems. Hydrogen embrittlement can significantly reduce ductility, fatigue life, and fracture toughness, potentially leading to component failure. While research exists, much of it focuses on extreme conditions (e.g., high pressures and rapid temperature cycling) that do not reflect typical operational environments in the GB gas network.

This project will deliver the first comprehensive and evidence‑based update to IGEM/TD/2 to enable its safe and consistent application to 100% hydrogen and hydrogen‑blend transmission pipelines. Current TD/2 methodologies reflect only natural gas behaviour, leaving critical gaps in failure frequencies, consequence modelling, harm criteria and risk‑reduction approaches for hydrogen. Through a structured programme of technical analysis, modelling, validation against large‑scale hydrogen test data, and extensive stakeholder engagement, the project will develop hydrogen‑specific failure frequency tables, consequence and overpressure models, harm thresholds, and guidance on appropriate risk‑reduction measures. These will be consolidated into a publication‑ready TD/2 Hydrogen Update Technical Suite and IGEM drafting instructions, ensuring regulatory alignment and industry consensus. The outcome will provide a unified, defensible framework that accelerates hydrogen network projects, supports the UK’s energy transition, and strengthens safety assurance across the gas sector.

The following is a proposed outline for a report on the decarbonisation benefits and potential of biomethane in the UK Road Haulage sector.

The report will position biomethane as:

1. A complimentary technology to zero tailpipe emission vehicles that offers faster decarbonisation potential due to the near-term infrastructure scalability of the technology and the suitability for long distance and non-fixed route logistics.
2. A cost-effective way to reduce Carbon emissions by over 84% over the next 15-20 years whilst zero tailpipe emission technologies are developed, and the supporting infrastructure is deployed.
3. An enabler to the transition to zero tailpipe emission vehicles by offering reduced carbon abatement costs that, in turn, can generate funds to invest in zero emissions infrastructure and vehicles.

It will serve as a reference document for discussions with industry stakeholders, governments, and regulators.

This project will conduct market research on available, or soon to be available hybrid products for discussion and presentation back to WWU and WW Housing to choose a preferred solution for the properties identified that are suitable to trial the equipment in. The project will provide networks with demand data and look to aggregate this over WW Housing stock to understand wider impact on gas networks, if this was considered a viable option to decarbonise housing stock.

The statistical ‘value’ (i.e. risk reduction and cost) of remote hydrogen detectors has been determined through statistical based projects as part of the hydrogen heating programme (HHP). The cost has been shown to outweigh the risk, however, given hydrogen is not a mature heating solution, the cost can be justified in response to risk appetite from key stakeholders, such as consumers. This risk appetite is assumed. There is currently no analysis (qualitative or quantitative) into consumers attitudes towards the ‘value’ of remote detectors. This project will begin to explore the perception of risk reduction from remote detectors to be used to compliment the statistical based analysis to paint a fuller picture towards the utilisation and crucially, the value, of remote detectors.

To support the UK achieving net zero by 2050, there is a need to decarbonise the current gas networks of transmission and distribution levels. The conversion of the NTS into a hydrogen transmission network has been widely discussed and extensive work is underway to prove the technical capability and commercial viability of a 100% hydrogen network. There is also additional work to support the governments clean power targets and a three-molecule approach has been adopted within National Gas to consider (bio)methane, hydrogen (including hydrogen blends) and carbon dioxide.

The gas networks need to be prepared to operate and safely manage the transportation of all three molecules, especially with the ambition to develop a 100% hydrogen network in the future, upskilling and training the current workforce and the workforce of the future is a fundamental step to ensuring the facilitation of the energy transition.

Identifying the skills and competencies required both during the transition and after the transition to maintain the future systems was discovered in the Skills and Competencies NIA that closed in Q4 2023. A competency framework was developed that will provide a baseline for the training and resourcing strategy proposed for operational and technical skills and competency requirements for current and future workforces.

The project produced a comprehensive plan to identify the known gaps and to provide a roadmap for key developments of standards and policies which will drive the training and competency needs. Furthermore, it identified potential training facilities to support the development of the plan and ultimately facilitate rollout. The project also enabled a large-scale training and competency programme to be developed alongside the relevant technical standards and policies in readiness for deployment to the relevant engineers.

National Gas would therefore like to understand how AI tools can be used to accurately and efficiently produce training materials and create a more effective, personalised training experience.