Government and industry should boost investment in technology to
promote the use of hydrogen as a way of storing energy, which
would make the UK energy system greener and more efficient,
according to a new report by the Institution of Mechanical
Engineers.
The technology would allow the gas grid to be used to
store excess electricity, in the form of hydrogen, and support an
expansion of renewable power in the UK.
One of the barriers to increasing renewable capacity
in the UK is the inability to store excess electricity ― if,
for example, it is very windy but demand levels are
low.
The recommendation is made in the report, ‘Energy
from Gas: Taking a Whole System Approach’, which outlines
keyways that gas could be used to make the UK energy system
greener, cheaper and more efficient.
“Government and industry need to step up efforts to
provide funding programmes and demonstration sites to encourage
the greater use of hydrogen as energy storage,” said Dr Jenifer
Baxter, Head of Engineering at the Institution of Mechanical
Engineers and lead author of the report.
“The UK has a strong track record of being at the
cutting edge of new energy developments, and this could present
the country with a chance to be a world leader in power-to-gas
and hydrogen technology.”
The report calls for more support for power to gas
technology, which is when excess electricity on the National
Grid, from either high levels renewable generation or low demand,
is used to create hydrogen through electrolysis. This can be used
locally, or injected into the gas grid at a low hydrogen
concentration. Apart from producing ‘green’ gas, it can also be
used to balance the electricity grid.
The UK gas grid has the potential to store excess
electricity in the form of hydrogen, for a greater amount of time
than some other forms of energy storage, such as
batteries.
This hydrogen can then be used in all areas of the
energy system producing low emissions fuel for transport,
reducing the CO2 emissions from the heating system, reused to
generate electricity as well as a greener feedstock for
industries such as ammonia and plastics
production.
“We need to move away from our wasteful culture to a
more sustainable and circular economy.
Power-to-gas and hydrogen technology could and should play a
major role in building this future,” said Dr
Baxter.
The report makes three recommendations for how power
to gas technology could be used to transform the UK energy
system:
1. UK Government must commit to creating an
industrial forum that brings together the nuclear, renewable
power and gas sectors to promote the generation and storage of
hydrogen for use across the UK energy system in heat, transport,
power generation and heavy industry. Investment now in the future
hydrogen economy will begin to encourage further innovation, open
up markets and help clarify legislation and
regulation.
2. UK Government must work with the gas industry to
promote the use of up to 20% hydrogen in the gas distribution
network including change in pipes and materials by 2023. Funding
programmes and demonstration sites are crucial to decarbonising
gas. Government has the power to finance research, development
and demonstration and support deployment through programmes such
as Innovate UK, as well as bespoke programmes designed to deliver
future UK infrastructure.
3. UK Government should commission a comprehensive
comparative study of the long-term sustainability of materials
used to create lithium ion EV batteries versus power-to-gas/ gas
systems and fuel cells, to identify appropriate technology and
life cycle approach. By understanding this more clearly, UK
Government can make evidence-based investment decisions that meet
the requirements of sustainable development in the transport and
heat sectors.
