Future Energy Networks

As the UK transitions to a low-carbon energy future, gas networks must consider how strategic utilisation of existing assets can be realised. GDNs must also consider adjacent markets such as CCUS and its role in the supply chain now and in the future. The project will take a pragmatic approach to provide SGN with an assessment of the role of the gas network in the growing UK CCUS market

Clean Power 2030 (CP2030) aims for a fully decarbonised electricity system, using unabated gas, only as backup. This introduces an important challenge: how can the gas transmission network remain viable and deliver flexibility during extreme demand events, despite not being utilised most of the time? This project aims to understand how to sustain the gas network technically and economically in a low average, high peak demand future, focusing on the interaction between gas and electricity systems.

Decarbonisation of UK transport, and the related Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate requires companies to transition their commercial vehicle fleets to Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) or alternative new emerging technologies (e.g. FCEC). As an operational utility network with responsibility for public safety WWU’s fleet undergoes a more challenging and varied range of duty cycles than most commercial fleets, includes vehicles that are required to provide on-site power, and must be capable of meeting WWU’s statutory duty to respond quickly to Public Reported Escapes.

Within this challenging operational context, WWU must deliver a fleet transition at the lowest feasible cost to assure value for money for our customers. This is further complicated by the need to plan the fleet transition while the associated technological and policy landscape continues to evolve in parallel. Although the learnings generated from the project will be specific to WWU’s fleet as a case study, they will be applicable to any networks with an operational fleet.

To assure a cost-effective transition and derisk future operations, WWU require a Total Cost of Operation (TCO) model. This will be specifically targeted at our particular operational context, capable of assessing the costs and capabilities of a range of ZEV options, and crucially must be easy for staff to adopt for internal use and update in the future as new data and/or technologies become available.

The purpose of this project is to provide WWU with a TCO model that addresses our specific operational requirements, ensuring that plans and investment decisions will be grounded in real-world technology assessments and our operational fleet data.

Early cluster projects will not benefit I&C customers that are located away from industrial clusters and are traditionally more distributed in nature. These customers are unlikely to have access to hydrogen infrastructure developed through the primary industrial clusters. This presents the need for an alternative solution.

This project will explore the concept of how a larger number of low-volume hydrogen producers can support I&C customers in the absence of natural ‘clustering’ and high-volume production by using the South West region of WWU’s network as a case study. This will be done by exploring the whole systems concept of a gas network which is driven by distributed green hydrogen production at strategic locations where there is access to both gas and electricity grid infrastructure.

This project involves a comprehensive set of tasks aimed at implementing and validating a domestic safety system for hydrogen use, including excess flow valves.

Hydrogen design codes require fracture mechanics based design and qualification for high stress service. Procurement of a number of Long Lead Items (LLI) is required to construct, commission and operate hydrogen networks. A number of these LLIs, including induction bends and barred tees, remain at a low technical readiness.

This project will carry out fracture toughness testing in a hydrogen environment to increase the technical readiness, support the supply chain and achieve operational schedules.

As the Gas Transmission network responds to a changing energy system, from drivers including the transition to net zero and to changes in supply and demand, we are required to decommission our large site based assets in certain locations. Decommissioning is a multifaceted endeavour that goes beyond the conclusion of an asset’s lifespan and encompasses a complex deconstruction process. This project will implement an innovative AI tool to help National Gas manage decommissioning to drive benefits such as increasing the accuracy of cost estimation, ways to reduce carbon emissions, identify re-use potential and lower the overall time taken to decommission.

UK’s Net Zero Emissions Target and the Role of Hydrogen: The UK has committed to a legally binding net zero emissions target by 2050. Achieving this target necessitates the integration of hydrogen, particularly in hard-to-decarbonize industrial applications and peaking power generation. The recent publication of the Climate Change Committee’s Seventh Carbon Budget highlights hydrogen’s significant role within the electricity supply sector. Hydrogen is identified as a crucial source of long-term storable energy that can be dispatched as needed and as a feedstock for synthetic fuels. For hydrogen to fully contribute to a future hydrogen system, its production, storage, and transportation must be considered collectively.

East Coast Hydrogen (ECH) Project: In recent years, Cadent, in partnership with National Gas and Northern Gas Networks (NGN), has developed the East Coast Hydrogen (ECH) Project. The ECH project aims to decarbonize primarily industry and power sectors. As part of this initiative, Cadent has developed the East Midlands Hydrogen Pipeline (EMHP), which aims to connect hydrogen production at Uniper’s Ratcliffe on Soar site to major industrial and power off-takers in the East Midlands. The project seeks to transport hydrogen to major population centres, including Nottingham, Leicester, Melton Mowbray, Derby, and Burton upon Trent. During the development of the EMHP, it became evident that hydrogen storage plays a critical role in establishing a resilient and efficient hydrogen system. Consequently, a consortium was formed to explore the feasibility of storage, leading to the East Midlands Storage Project (EMSTOR).

Discovery Phase of EMSTOR: During the Discovery Phase, EMSTOR evaluated various technologies for large-scale hydrogen storage in the East Midlands. The technologies considered included lined rock caverns, lined rock shafts, silos, and geological storage options such as aquifers and disused hydrocarbon fields. After comparing these technologies against several technical parameters, including Technology Readiness Level (TRL), cost, size, and location relative to pipelines, it was determined that hydrogen storage in geological fields, particularly disused hydrocarbon fields, is the most viable option. Therefore, disused hydrocarbon fields in geological formations were selected for further consideration in the Alpha Phase.

Alpha Phase Consortium: To execute the Alpha Phase, a consortium led by Cadent and including Star Energy Ltd, Centrica Energy Storage, National Grid, British Geological Society, University of Edinburgh, and Uniper was established. This consortium will focus on advancing the feasibility and implementation of hydrogen storage in disused hydrocarbon fields.

Wales & West Utilities is undertaking a major programme of change to support decarbonisation and deliver a Net Zero gas network. The primary objective of this project is to investigate the effects of water ingress within a 100% hydrogen network and a blended hydrogen/natural gas network. The goal is to determine whether the introduction of hydrogen into the gas network could cause any additional impacts when water ingress occurs, and to compare these effects to those observed in the current natural gas network.

The UK Government recognised that domestic biomethane production can play a significant role in decarbonising energy supplies. However, biomethane production plants face technical and operational challenges. Currently the content of biomethane within biogas produced from the anaerobic digestion (AD) process is often only around 50%. This partial conversion results in lower yields for AD operators and an increase in costly gas scrubbing requirements. The increased presence of impurity gases also increases requirement for propanation to increase the calorific value, high in both cost and carbon footprint.

This project seeks to address these challenges through the injection of green hydrogen into the AD process in specific quantities and at specific times to achieve greater conversion of carbon dioxide to biomethane within the acetogenesis stage of the AD process, thereby increasing the yield whilst reducing the need for gas scrubbing and propanation.