U.K. Pauses Plans for 'Hydrogen Town'

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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The United Kingdom said it was postponing plans to switch some consumers from natural gas to hydrogen in light of recent protests.

The British Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, along with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in 2022 invited gas distributers to apply for funding to develop plans for the use of hydrogen for heat.

Dubbed "hydrogen town," the program aimed to switch consumers by 2030. The proposal came first out of a 2020 plan steered by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who advocated for a revolution in the green industries.

Studies, however, suggest hydrogen is not yet viable as an affordable alternative, and ministers faced recent protests from the towns selected for the pilot program.

Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho said Thursday the government was applying the brakes on the program.

"We believe that low-carbon hydrogen may have a role to play in heat decarbonization, alongside heat pumps and heat networks, but in slower time in some locations," she said. "We plan to take a decision in 2026 on whether, and if so how, hydrogen will contribute to heating decarbonization."

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, but it's usually only found incorporated with other elements. Two hydrogen atoms bonded to one oxygen atom makes water. There are four hydrogen atoms, meanwhile, bonded to one atom of carbon to form methane gas.

So-called green hydrogen is a process that breaks water into its elemental components using an electric current powered by renewable energy. Grey hydrogen uses high temperatures and steam to break up methane.

Much of the entire industry is in its nascent stage, with much of the hydrogen today coming from the grey production method. Cleaner methods are considerably more expensive, with green hydrogen estimated to cost three times as much as grey hydrogen on average.

Jess Ralston, the head of energy studies at the non-profit Energy and Climate Intelligence Energy Unit, said the pause shows that hydrogen will only be able to play a minor role, "if any at all," in heating.

"This paves the way for more investment into electric heat pumps, which boost energy security by lowering the amount of gas we need, which will increasingly come from abroad as the North Sea continues its decline, we need to heat our homes," she said.

The government's plans had already faced some internal opposition. The House of Commons said in 2022 that hydrogen may be limited to hard-to-electrify sectors such as rail, small-service refueling networks and other niche users.

In April, Germany's government agreed on a financing model to support a future hydrogen network that will extend over 6,000 miles and cost $21 billion to build. Repurposed gas pipelines are expected to account for 60% of the network.

The British energy secretary said the government would assess evidence from similar schemes in Europe when making future decisions on hydrogen.

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