UK government funds bulk hydrogen supply solutions
Jake Stones
18-Feb-2020
LONDON (ICIS)–In an effort to progress the introduction of low-carbon fuels into its power stack, the UK government has announced on Tuesday which projects will receive funding for the second phase of its Hydrogen Supply programme.
In total, the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has allocated £28m to five projects based around the UK which aim to develop low-carbon bulk hydrogen supply solutions. Phase 1 of the programme was used to explore initial feasibility studies.
BEIS believes the phase-2 funds will help to provide the UK with its first large-scale hydrogen plants, capable of generating enough clean energy to heat over 200,000 homes.
FUNDING DISTRIBUTION
Of the five projects only two generate hydrogen using renewable energy, the Dolphyn and the Gigastack projects. In these instances, renewable power is used to separate hydrogen from water using a process called electrolysis.
Hydrogen created from renewable energy is known as “green hydrogen” and produces zero carbon emissions.
The larger of the two green hydrogen projects is the Gigastack project, which is being led by ITM Power Trading Ltd and utilises the wind turbines at Orsted’s Hornsea Two offshore wind farm.
The phase-2 funding for the Gigastack project will be used to study and enhance designs on a 100MW electrolyser system, using staged installations with a nominal capacity of 20MW.
The remaining three projects also utilise low-carbon hydrogen technology, but generate the hydrogen via carbon capture and storage (CCS). This method still produces carbon emissions, however the CCS technology prevents the majority of them escaping and contributing to climate change. Hydrogen generated through CCS is known as “blue hydrogen”.
Once hydrogen is separated out it is ready to be used as a fuel and emits only water when burned, making it a low-carbon alternative to coal and natural gas.
BEIS also released additional funds for numerous other decarbonising projects. The total allocation, including the £28m for hydrogen projects, was £90m.
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