Projects

This project constitutes a research study which will explore how nuclear energy can support a whole system energy transition by providing for the energy requirements of low-carbon hydrogen and heat networks within regions where renewable energy potential is relatively low. These are areas where hydrogen demand will need to be met by imports unless hydrogen production methods can be increased and diversified.

This project constitutes a GB-wide analysis of biomethane feedstock arisings including location determination of quality and composition of each feedstock type and biomethane production potential. Arisings will be quantified to county-level. Mapping software will be used to determine feedstock hotspots and alignment with the grid will be considered. The results of these analyses will be combined to consider how and where sustainable biomethane growth can best be achieved.

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.

In order to construct commission and operate new hydrogen pipelines and installations safely and as part of modifications to existing assets for repurposing ball valves are required to carry out isolations. Selected ball valves need to have been proven to be suitable for service in large diameter high pressure hydrogen networks.

This project will carry out performance validation testing on a 32” ball valve to confirm suitability to operate in high pressure hydrogen networks.

To ensure that the users and general public recognise and report hydrogen leaks without further education current guidance states that the smell of hydrogen should be indistinguishable from that of natural gas. It is also expected that the same odorant will be used in hydrogen networks as is currently injected to natural gas and so it is essential to ensure that existing methodologies for olfactory assessment (Rhinology) originally developed for natural gas are safe effective and applicable to 100% hydrogen environments.

The initial Hydrogen in MOBs project established the foundational evidence for hydrogen conversion and this follow-on project will address remaining evidence gaps identified by the CFA finalising the safety and regulatory case for MOB hydrogen conversion and enabling a clear handover of outputs to industry. This work also doubles up as an assessment of options we have today to deliver practical and safe designs introducing a new range of risk mitigation options which could be more cost effective and efficient way of managing MOBs and pipe assets. As a practical assessment of technical requirements for conversion this closes out CFA recommendations through applied testing to solve engineering and safety challenges but also informs current processes.

Key deliverables include validated technical data an updated Quantified Risk Assessment (QRA) for MOBs an updated management procedure and a revised IGEM/G/5 Hydrogen Supplement to be formally handed over to IGEM for review. Together these outputs will close out the regulatory and procedural workstream associated with hydrogen in MOBs research.

The project’s findings will also directly support the development of a decision-making framework to support refurbishment and riser replacement programmes. This will enable the industry to make consistent evidence-based decisions on the most appropriate options for MOBs including where alternatives to hydrogen may be more suitable.

The Technical Blueprint Project forms a critical enabling phase of Cadent’s Hydrogen Blending Implementation Programme. Its purpose is to translate existing high level hydrogen blending evidence into a detailed network specific asset level and operationally deliverable blueprint that defines what is required for the gas network to safely and compliantly accommodate hydrogen blends of up to 20% by volume once regulatory approval is granted.

While previous industry projects have established that hydrogen blending is feasible in principle many technical operational and cost decisions remain at an asset process system and people level. These gaps currently prevent informed investment decisions and cannot be addressed through business‑as‑usual activity. This project addresses that gap by undertaking structured technical validation impact refinement and mitigation definition across Cadent’s network with a particular focus on the North West and East Midlands as pilot regions.

The project will coordinate specialist technical suppliers to validate prior hydrogen impact assessments against the most up‑to‑date safety evidence identify and close remaining evidence gaps and determine clear final mitigation positions for all affected assets and operational activities. Outputs will be consolidated into a single integrated technical blueprint providing a sequenced and costed set of actions required to achieve “blend readiness”. Areas confirmed as having no impact will also be explicitly documented to avoid unnecessary future intervention and cost.

The Technical Blueprint will provide Cadent and wider GB networks with a robust evidence‑based foundation to support future regulatory submissions funding reopeners and implementation planning. Learning generated will be transferable across gas distribution networks supporting a coordinated cost‑effective and safe transition toward hydrogen blending while reducing long‑term consumer risk and avoiding premature or inefficient investment.

This project constitutes a focused feasibility assessment of local biomethane market models with the objective of determining how decentralised commercial arrangements can enable increased participation from small-scale and community anaerobic digestion (AD) producers. The study will examine commercial structures regulatory considerations and stakeholder readiness associated with enabling localised trading of green gas through existing distribution networks. It will assess the interaction between market design connection approaches and consumer engagement to identify viable pathways for implementation and scale-up.

This project constitutes a UK-wide strategic assessment of digestate production arising from projected biomethane growth including quantification of volumes in 2030 2040 and 2050 and analysis of nutrient composition (nitrogen phosphorus and potassium). Sustainable land-spreading capacity will be evaluated under current regulatory constraints with regional nutrient imbalances mapped. Export potential and post-processing technologies will be assessed to determine infrastructure needs and optimal management pathways. Findings will inform how digestate management can best support sustainable biomethane growth.

Hydrogen Transition Pathways for Industrial Clusters (HTPIC) is a six-month evidence led research and decision support project developed in response to the EIC’s call for innovation on the energy transition of industrial clusters. The project addresses the challenge of determining where how and under what conditions hydrogen should play a role in decarbonising industrial clusters and surrounding communities alongside credible alternative pathways.

Across the GB energy system existing hydrogen programmes and studies are typically undertaken on a cluster-by-cluster or project-specific basis using differing assumptions scenarios and decision criteria. This makes it difficult for networks and policymakers to compare options consistently understand system level trade-offs or prioritise investment in a transparent and auditable way. The absence of a common decision framework increases the risk of misaligned investment stranded assets and inconsistent outcomes across regions.

HTPIC aims to close this gap by providing NGN Future Energy Networks (FEN) and Xoserve with a structured repeatable decision framework that enables consistent evidence-based comparison of hydrogen pathways across industrial clusters. The project integrates technical economic social and deliverability considerations within a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework allowing complex evidence to be translated into clear and practical insights rather than standalone studies or narrative recommendations.

The project will be delivered in three stages:

• Stage 1 establishes a robust evidence baseline including a comprehensive literature and evidence review documented assumptions register and confirmation of scope and clusters.
• Stage 2 generates robust comparable evidence across clusters through four analytical workstreams covering hydrogen supply and demand gas coexistence and system configuration conversion practicality and costs and just-transition considerations while developing and calibrating the MCDM framework with stakeholders.
• Stage 3 applies the agreed framework to undertake structured optioneering and scenario analysis resulting in prioritised pathways cluster-specific conversion playbooks and decision-ready outputs.

Key outputs include:

• a literature and evidence review with a transparent assumption register;
• a defensible options-rationalisation matrix and MCDM framework;
• a comprehensive report addressing the four research questions set out in the EIC brief supported by an executive summary and cluster-specific annexes;
• cluster-level conversion playbooks translating analysis into practical location-specific insights;
• pathway roadmaps to 2050; and
• a final dissemination pack to support knowledge sharing across NGN FEN Xoserve and Ofgem audiences .

HTPIC will support improved strategic planning for hydrogen and alternative decarbonisation pathways reduce the risk of misaligned investment and stranded assets through structured prioritisation and strengthen alignment between industrial cluster ambitions and network development plans. By providing a transparent and consistent decision framework the project enables clearer sequencing of pathways more robust comparison of hydrogen and alternative options and improved confidence in future investment appraisal.

The project will also enhance understanding of affordability workforce implications and wider community impacts ensuring that pathway selection considers both technical feasibility and socio-economic factors. Through its systematic assessment of coexistence conversion practicality and deliverability HTPIC supports safer and more coordinated progression into downstream engineering and delivery programmes.

HTPIC will generate new system-level learning on hydrogen coexistence conversion practicality and community impacts presented through a structured scenario-based and weighted decision framework that enables transparent comparison across industrial clusters. This learning will strengthen evidence-based decision making across networks and provide a clearer foundation for future programme development regulatory engagement and investment planning.

Learning will be disseminated through the dissemination event final report executive summary and EIC knowledge-sharing channels supporting wider GB network benefit.

The project commences at TRL 2 where the structured assessment methodology and decision framework are defined conceptually. Over the course of delivery the framework will be applied across multiple industrial clusters tested against real-world scenarios and stakeholder calibration and analytically validated through structured optioneering.

By project close the solution will have progressed to TRL 3 with the methodology demonstrated and validated in a decision-support context delivering robust prioritisation and clearly articulated pathways.

The project does not include detailed engineering design trials or implementation. Early-stage engineering validation or delivery programmes across industrial clusters are already underway or in development through separate governance funding and procurement routes. HTPIC is designed to strengthen and rationalise those activities by providing a structured evidence base and decision framework to support confident downstream investment and engineering decisions.