Smart hydrogen gas network to trial in northern England
British gas network operator Northern Gas Networks is to host a novel gas carbon neutral pre-heating solution using AI and hydrogen storage technology.
The trial, which will take place at Northern Gas Networks’ Low Thornley research site near Gateshead in northeast England, is aimed to investigate new, less carbon intensive ways of pre-heating gas for transportation.
Pre-heating is an essential part of gas distribution and takes place to allow the flow of the gas, which may have become frozen in the pressure reduction process needed before it can be transported through the network.
Traditional pre-heating units are highly energy intensive, however, over the last decade the gas industry has been exploring low carbon technologies capable of carrying out the process.
Have you read?
Northern England likely site of GB’s first hydrogen village
Energy Transitions Podcast: Lessons from a Danish hydrogen pilot project
The trial, which is led by hydrogen storage developer H2GO Power and heating technology provider Baxi, will test the companies’ ‘Heat-in-a-box’ solution, a containerised offering combining electrolysis, H2GO’s proprietary low pressure hydrogen storage and Baxi’s hydrogen boiler.
The system will be powered by solar PV and supported by H2GO Power’s HyAI AI-enabled optimisation software platform specifically designed for hydrogen systems.
HyAI will be installed on NGN’s existing infrastructure to integrate them as part of the solution and optimise the overall system operation, thereby introducing the concept of a smart hydrogen gas network.
“Innovation projects are critical to understanding the route for the UK to reach net zero, the role hydrogen can play in helping to decarbonise all sectors and the opportunities it offers within a whole-systems approach,” says Mark Horsley, CEO of Northern Gas Networks.
The initiative is among projects funded through the government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s £26 million ($31 million) Industrial Hydrogen Accelerator Programme funding innovation projects that can provide evidence on industrial fuel switching to hydrogen.
Dr Enass Abo-Hamed, CEO of H2GO Power, says that Heat-in-the-box is revolutionary as it can decarbonise heating processes from multiple industries including cement, glass, ceramics, chemical, food and drinks, paper and pulp and more.
“Decarbonisation of heat systems have been proven difficult and costly to achieve so far, but this latest initiative is set to change this,” he promises, asserting a payback estimated from reduced energy costs within 10 years for industrial facilities with preheating or other heating processes.
