About the project

HYVE is assessing the potential value of hydrogen to the UK as part of a transition to a low carbon economy.

It is assessing the potential demand for and value of hydrogen in different markets across the energy system and will analyse the supply chain required to produce and deliver that hydrogen.  This will include the supply of hydrogen from using electrolysers for load balancing in the UK electricity system with a high penetration of renewable electricity.

Supporting renewable electricity generation

In the short-term, hydrogen electrolysers can support electricity system load balancing as the proportion of intermittent renewables increases.

We are extending and linking models of renewable electricity generation and of the gas networks (a Simone model) and electricity networks (a PSS/E model) to estimate the indirect value of hydrogen in supporting a high penetration of renewable electricity by avoiding electricity network reinforcement.

We will then link these models to the UKTM-UCL energy system model to assess the direct value of electrolysed hydrogen to companies, if the hydrogen is used in the gas network (power-to-gas), as an industrial feedstock, as a transport fuel or for large-scale storage as part of the electricity system. The models will identify the most appropriate locations for electrolysis deployment and the timescales on which they should be deployed.

Hydrogen-powered cars

In the medium-term, the most important use of hydrogen is likely to be in the transport sector.

We have recently examined how a hydrogen supply chain might develop across the UK using a new spatially-explicit infrastructure planning model called SHIPMod. HYVE is adding a number of new features to this model, including hydrogen pipelines and finer temporal disaggregation to link with the electrolysis parts of the network models. We can then assess the value of hydrogen supply infrastructure and identify the optimum deployment of infrastructure across the UK.

Using hydrogen in homes and offices

In the longer term, hydrogen is a zero-carbon option to replace natural gas for heat generation.

We have examined the potential for converting the natural gas networks to use hydrogen and to examine the long-term prospects for micro-CHP to replace boilers. This project will build on this research with the aims of:

1. assessing the value of hydrogen to the UK for heat provision;
2. understanding the impact of hydrogen on the gas distribution networks; and,
3. examining how using hydrogen for heat as well as transport would impact the development of a hydrogen supply infrastructure.

Combining these models to understand the value of hydrogen

The final step of the project is to integrate the electricity, gas, energy system and infrastructure planning models to examine the value of hydrogen across the energy system, as visualised in the diagram below.