Future Energy Networks

The study will identify the significant technical, fiscal and political challenges current heat decarbonisation strategy faces, and outline an alternative approach involving greater use of hybrid devices that offers both lower consumer costs and greater potential to cut carbon emissions than projected based on current policy and consumer behaviour. Arguments will be presented through four linked pieces of analysis:

1. An examination of the costs of the Government’s Clean Heat Market Mechanism (a key policy intervention to promote heat pumps in the appliance market).
2. An approximation of the additional network upgrade requirement early transfers to heat pumps represent in comparison to hybrids.
3. A view on what extending the Green Gas Levy beyond its current cut-off date could do to the emissions intensity of the gas distribution network (by encouraging more biomethane production).
4. Voter polling that analyses their view on different approaches to heat decarbonisation.

The paper will include a series of policy recommendations for government to take forward in order to enhance progress on decarbonisation of domestic heat.

The Stopple technology is a flow stop tool essential for major projects and emergency works across the LTS and NTS gas network. Its capability was tested in 100% hydrogen within a helinite environment, in line with LTS Futures parameters as phase 1. This project focuses on validating flow-stopping technology as an additional deliverable with LTS Futures live hydrogen trial on the Granton to Grangemouth pipeline as a welded tee and hot-tapping operations is already being carried out. The trial will confirm the Stopple train’s effectiveness as a double-block and bleed solution for a 100% hydrogen system which will be available for the UK Gas Network. The findings will provide critical insights into the safe and efficient operation of the hydrogen networks supporting the transition from natural gas to hydrogen.

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 concerns the research into welding residual stress values and the effect that they have on the overall pipework repurposing assessment route described in relevant hydrogen standards. Currently, overly conservative values need to be applied for welding residual stresses in any repurposing assessment. This project aims to build evidence on actual and modelled residual stresses seen within the pipelines industries, with a focus on natural gas pipelines. As the welding residual stress is a critical aspect of the fracture mechanics assessment, any improvements which can be gained would have an overall positive impact on the assessment results.