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Project GaIN
As the UK attempts to decarbonise residential heat to meet net zero by 2050 electric heat pumps along with heat networks are expected to play a key role. However it is generally accepted that no one technology will be able to meet the needs of all households. If we are to deliver affordable low- carbon heating in the residential sector we shall need as wide a range of technology options as possible to overcome the economic and technical challenges facing every customer.
Project GaIN (Gathering Insights) will explore alternatives to heat pumps and heat networks which can utilise the robust gas network and benefit from its current upgrade programme supporting the aims of DESNZ’s decarbonisation of heat roadmap. The project will discover and assess additional technology options where alternative solutions might be more costly or difficult to deliver; this will include LAEP system benefits as well as localised CAPEX and OPEX costs.
Project Volta
This project will undertake testing on technology for distributed production of low carbon hydrogen from natural gas biogas or other short chain hydrocarbons from waste. Which uses 90% less electricity than electrolysis of water and with 68% lower total energy costs.
The project will support early movers and convert gas from our network into a low carbon hydrogen solution. The compact and modular deployment of the technology enables hydrogen production systems to be installed directly at the energy user's site. These systems convert grid-supplied natural gas to hydrogen on demand eliminating the need for additional infrastructure or on-site hydrogen storage and leaves the rest of the network unaffected
Navigator Project
Situation:
As National Grid ESO transitions to the NESO it will take on the role of Regional Energy Strategic Planners which will bring a focus on the alignment of Local Area Energy Plans and distribution network planning.
Complication:
Current regional distribution network future energy scenarios are produced by electricity distribution networks. Gas distribution networks do not have an equivalent activity Accordingly regional and local area energy planning in not informed by a balanced consideration of all energy vectors.
Solution:
An agile and easy to use Whole Energy Systems Pathway (WESP) tool with detailed temporal and spatial investment planning capabilities to enable a regional whole energy system planning capability which informs gas network planning as well as inform national regional and local planners in an objective evidence based. way
H2 Rail
This project will explore the feasibility of integrating hydrogen train refuelling infrastructure to support the development of a hydrogen rail network. This has particular relevance to our network as some of the UK’s hardest to electrify rail routes are situated in Wales and South West England. The project will focus on these hard to electrify routes exploring H2’s potential role in enabling their decarbonisation. If successful this project can help the WWU network to become a proving ground for real-world delivery of impactful H2 rail technology. It is expected to provide information which can be used in planning strategic hydrogen pipeline routes and network repurposing plans and support regional energy planning.
Future Hydrogen Safe Control of Operations (SCO) Procedures
Following the work completed on the policies and procedures project by QEMS WWU have identified the requirement to update and re-vamp the existing Safe control of operations (SCO) procedures used by the network to support delivery of upcoming projects.
Forecaster for Embedded Generation (FEmGE)
Gas networks supply embedded power stations that support the electricity network. These embedded generators can fire up without any warning to GDNs and is causing significant challenges to gas networks.
GDNs are required to submit hourly gas demand nominations to National Gas for each offtake point within specified time deadlines.
Embedded generators are small. They are not included in the UNC’s requirements to notify their GDN of intended offtake activity due to their size being below the threshold for NExAs (network exit agreements). Despite this GDNs must include the demand from these embedded generators in their nominations to ensure there is sufficient gas within their network. This causes numerous challenges for SGN and other GDNs.
GDNs’ current forecasting process does not specifically forecast embedded gas generation and current models do not take inputs from the electricity market. Embedded generators act in a variety of electricity markets yet GDNs don’t have visibility of this demand.
It is anticipated that additional embedded generators will connect in the coming months/years as the demand for electricity increases.The challenge of not having knowledge of embedded generator’s demand and its potential to contribute to a storage shortage has been acknowledged by both EGRIT (Electricity and Gas Resilience Task Group) and NESO (National Energy System Operator). The benefits of creating a notification platform supported by a ML engine are various. Namely to develop an ML-enabled forecasting tool to predict gas demand from embedded generators with increased accuracy as delivery time approaches. In addition to create a notification platform to improve real-time visibility of embedded generator activities within the electricity and gas networks.
This NIA project aims to progress the FEmGE forecasting tool from TRL 1 to TRL 7 delivering a fully functional MVP. NGN will be funding this project to the value of £92333 and SGN to £184666 of the total of £276999.
Carbon 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
Application of Functional Blending - Testing a Market-led Approach
Wales & West Utilities has developed a Regional Decarbonisation Pathway to provide an overarching strategic plan for the network in Wales and the South West of England. To deliver that pathway more detailed assessment and planning is required to facilitate the progression of opportunities in particular areas.
In 2023 WWU supported Cadent as the lead partner in the development and delivery of a Functional Blending Specification (FBS) which has progressed the technical understanding of how blending equipment can be practically applied within the context of existing gas network assets (https://smarter.energynetworks.org/projects/NIA_CAD0079/). In 2023 UK Government affirmed their support for network blending whilst networks have continued to develop evidence in support of blending since (Hydrogen blending in GB distribution networks: strategic decision - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)).
Integrity Management of Hydrogen Pipelines
Existing defect assessments and repair methodologies are aligned with the T/PM/P/11 and T/PM/P/20 management procedures and are adopted to inspect assess and repair the pipelines for defects and take suitable measures to reduce them. However the scope and applicability of the repair techniques in the presence of high-pressure hydrogen remain uncertain. The key questions which form an outline of the project are:
- What are the different types of defects we may encounter or consider injurious in the presence of hydrogen?
- What is the impact of hydrogen on each defect type? Have the mechanisms of failure changed for each defect type after hydrogen-natural gas blending?
- Will the existing repair techniques be applicable under transmission of high-pressure hydrogen and hydrogen-natural gas blends?
- Can we implement the defect assessment inspection and repair methodologies safely? Are the techniques safe and suitable for the pipeline operations and maintenance teams?
The project seeks to answer the above in addition to understanding the types and extent of repairs across the NTS and assess the impact of hydrogen on the effectiveness of these inspection assessment and mitigation technologies.
Achieving Future Hydrogen Demand
This project constitutes a research study assessing the future demand for hydrogen across SGN regions and the role SGN infrastructure could play in facilitating access to hydrogen.
As the UK transitions to a low-carbon energy future gas networks must consider how strategic utilisation of existing assets can be realised. Using SGN’s extensive gas network to carry hydrogen instead of natural gas would be a major step towards decarbonisation. This repurposing necessitates an understanding of both the technical feasibility of repurposing pipelines to carry hydrogen and future hydrogen demand requirements.
Rising Pressure Reformer Study
This project will assess the application of Rising Pressure Reformer (RiPR) technology to produce a tuneable blend of biogenic methane and hydrogen supporting the decarbonisation of gas networks. The project will focus on the how control of the gas produced would fit with requirements for network injection and assessing locations for connection.
SHINE (Non-Electric Boiler)
Power outages are a regular occurrence in Great Britian with average annual customer minutes lost in Great Britain range between 31.57 minutes 51.4 minutes depending on the Distribution Network Operator License Area (Statista 2021). This is of course not evenly distributed with outages varying from a few minutes up to more than a week in more extreme circumstances. Similarly single outages can affect a single property or several thousand properties depending on the cause. This project will aim to develop a low-cost user-friendly solution whereby customers in vulnerable situations will still be able to use their gas heated boiler as well as LPG and oil heated boilers in the event of a power outage.
Welding Residual Stress Measurements and Analysis for Gas Pipelines
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.
Hydrogen Rollout Assessment
This project will help WWU to understand considerations for 100% Hydrogen Rollout at a town scale to inform future activity on preparation for repurposing. Areas will be chosen which are representative of different networks housing stock and demographics which will require different approaches and engagement.
Assessing Energy Impacts via Thermal Analysis
The project aims to use a vehicle-mounted thermal camera and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect heat loss from homes on a city-wide scale. The data will be used to assess the condition of a property regarding its ability to retain heat and provide tailored recommendations addressing insulation problems. This critical first step allows for better targeting of necessary retrofits and offers a scientifically measured alternative or complementary approach to traditional EPC.
Commercial Vehicle Fleet – Development of Total Cost of Operation Model
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.
Augmented Reality Futures Close
Augmented Reality (AR) technology will be used at Futures Close to convey and inform various audiences including vulnerable consumers about various property archetypes their construction heat loss and the type of retrofit solutions (heating systems controls fabric improvements) available to improve the level of domestic energy efficiency. AR will be used to inform educate and engage audiences on-site at Futures Close as well as off-site at conferences and meetings avoiding the need to facilitate multiple visits on site. Live data feeds will also be visualised illustrating room-by-room temperature humidity as well as other metrics providing an engaging interactive and informative asset for Futures Close.
Probabilistic Fitness-for-Service Assessment of Hydrogen Pipeline Girth Welds
Repurposing of natural gas pipelines made of carbon steel for use with hydrogen blends requires a fitness-for-service analysis as part of the hydrogen use safety case. Girth welds of an unknown quality exist in the Local Transmission System (LTS). In hydrogen service these welds would have a greater susceptibility to fracture failure due to material embrittlement caused by interaction of steel material with hydrogen.
Current inspection methods do not routinely inspect girth welds for defects. Deterministic defect assessment models require the use of conservative assumptions for defect sizes material properties and loading. This can lead to overly pessimistic conclusions about the suitability of pipelines with girth welds for use with hydrogen.
More detailed probability-based assessments are required to reduce the inherent pessimism in deterministic calculation methods. This would provide confidence of the safety and allow for greater use of the LTS with hydrogen and contribute to a quicker and cheaper energy transition for the UK gas network.
Wireless Methane Odorant Detector
This project aims to improve natural gas leak detection for over 3.5 million people with acute smell disorders e.g. anosmia. Traditional methane sensors require high power limiting placement. The legally required odorant (80% tert-butyl mercaptan and 20% dimethyl sulphide) will continue as the UK transitions to hydrogen or blends necessitating re-calibration of detectors.
Our solution is an odorant-based gas detector using a custom ultra-low power electrochemical sensor to measure TBM. These sensors operate for over 10 years on a sealed lithium-ion battery detecting TBM from 20-30ppb (below our smell threshold) up to 1500ppb (20% of the Lower Explosion Level) ensuring early warning of gas leaks.
With no natural sources of TBM false positives are eliminated. The Sensor is ‘hydrogen ready’ maintaining consistent odorant levels during the transition to hydrogen or blends accurately notifying of gas leakage without reconfiguration.
Alt Pipe
As the owner of the National Transmission System (NTS) National Gas is committed to responsibly managing our redundant assets in a manner that contributes to a sustainable lower-carbon future by decommissioning them responsibly refurbishing for re-use where viable and/or or changing their purpose where possible. This discovery project will identify decommissioned elements of redundant pipework on the transmission system which are unlikely to be used for refurbishment or part of any wider repurposing of the core network and explore the potential of repurposing these for alternative uses including the storage and/or transmission of electrical energy heat fuels water and data.