Future Energy Networks

The use of greener gases such as biomethane are an important part of the UK’s transition to net zero. Underground storage sites for biomethane are critical for balancing seasonal supply and demands for energy. However, increased levels of oxygen in biomethane can lead to corrosion of assets in wet gas conditions, compromising the integrity of storage facilities. This project will assess in a comparative analysis the technical and economic viability of advanced catalytic and adsorption technologies to reduce oxygen levels in biomethane with corrosion inhibitors to ensure the integrity and longevity of critical storage infrastructure.

This project will provide National Gas Transmission (NGT) with a clear technical understanding and strategy for the deployment of recompression solutions for Net Zero gas networks, including hydrogen blends, 100% hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide transmission.

The NIA Safe Venting & Recompression of Hydrogen innovation project explored the possibility of repurposing natural gas recompression units for hydrogen blends and 100% hydrogen and investigated new solutions for hydrogen pipeline recompression as part of routine maintenance activities.

This project will take further NGT’s knowledge of hydrogen recompression for different scales and applications on the NTS to reduce venting, and explore similar solutions for carbon dioxide pipelines.

Problem Digital exclusion remains a significant challenge across the UK, preventing many individuals—particularly those in vulnerable circumstances—from accessing critical information and services. As energy networks increasingly rely on digital channels for communication, those without internet access, digital skills, or confidence in using online tools face barriers in receiving important updates, such as emergency notifications and service disruptions. Current communication strategies, while effective for digitally engaged users, fail to reach those who are excluded due to economic, geographic, or personal barriers. This project seeks to bridge this gap by rethinking communication strategies to ensure all consumers, regardless of digital access, receive the information they need in a timely and accessible manner. Project Aims & Key Objectives Building upon the learnings from the previous Digital Exclusion project (NIA_CAD0088), this project aims to develop new, inclusive communication strategies that enhance engagement with digitally excluded individuals. The research project will determine what new approaches may be able to be adopted by energy networks to aid consumers who could otherwise be left vulnerable due to being digitally excluded. By adopting a human-centred approach, the project will:

• Understand how digitally excluded individuals currently access information and navigate daily life.
• Identify barriers in existing energy network communication strategies.
• Co-design and test new approaches that improve information delivery and engagement for those excluded from digital channels.
• Provide recommendations for scalable, long-term improvements in energy communication infrastructure. Project Outputs The project will deliver the following tangible outputs across the following stages: Stage 0 – Outreach
• Identification of priority demographics which are most affected by digital exclusion.
• Engagement with several digital inclusion hubs to identify and introduce stakeholders to the project.

Project Plan – Rethinking Communication for Digital Exclusion

Stage 1 - Insight

• A comprehensive research report detailing the lived experiences of digitally excluded individuals.
• Analysis of existing communication strategies used by energy networks, highlighting gaps and opportunities.

Stage 2 - Collaboration

• A series of co-design workshops engaging key stakeholders to generate and refine potential solutions.
• Prototype solutions tested in real-world settings, with iterative refinement based on feedback.

Stage 3 - Impact

• A strategic roadmap for scaling successful solutions across the energy sector.
• A final report consolidating research insights, prototype evaluations, and recommended implementation strategies. Expected Benefits
• For digitally excluded consumers: More effective, trusted, and accessible communication methods ensuring they receive vital energy-related information.
• For energy networks: Improved customer engagement, compliance with accessibility standards, and enhanced reputation for supporting vulnerable groups.
• For wider stakeholders: Development of scalable best practices that can be applied beyond the energy sector to improve communication with digitally excluded populations. TRL
• Start TRL: 2 (Technology concept formulated)
• End TRL: 5 (Technology validated in a relevant environment)

National gas pipeline systems rely heavily on protective coatings and cathodic protection to prevent corrosion and ensure long-term integrity. Coatings act as the primary barrier against environmental exposure, while cathodic protection—typically using sacrificial anodes or impressed current systems—supplements this by mitigating electrochemical reactions that cause metal degradation. The introduction of hydrogen into these pipelines, as part of decarbonization efforts, presents new challenges. Hydrogen can permeate coatings and accelerate corrosion processes, especially in the presence of certain microbes. Microbiologically induced corrosion (MIC), driven by bacteria such as sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB), can be exacerbated by hydrogen, which some microbes use as an energy source. This interaction may compromise both the coating and cathodic protection systems, necessitating advanced materials and monitoring strategies to maintain pipeline safety and performance in a hydrogen-integrated future.

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.

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.

This project will investigate the potential impacts of district heating on the gas network, whether its viable for the network to support district heating and what repurposing would be required.

This project will assess the current and future role of gas distribution networks (GDNs) in supporting dispatchable electricity generation within a decarbonising UK energy system. It will identify method(s) for GDN operators to obtain accurate gas usage data from existing generation connections and develop future scenarios to inform network planning and investment.