‘First of its kind’ facility to investigate hydrogen supply for homes and industry

A ‘first of its kind’ hydrogen research facility will investigate how existing transmission assets could supply hydrogen to heat homes and deliver green energy to industry.

Carried out ‘offline’ to prevent risks to the national gas transmission network, the £12.7m National Grid project is funded by Ofgem. It will be led by DNV GL, with support from the Health and Safety Executive, Northern Gas Networks, Fluxys and the Universities of Durham and Edinburgh.

The facility, known as HyNTS FutureGrid, will be based at DNV GL’s site in Spadeadam, Cumbria. It will be built from a range of decommissioned assets to create a representative gas transmission network. The network will remain separate from the national transmission system, allowing for testing of up to 100% blends of hydrogen to be undertaken in a controlled environment, with no risk to the safety and reliability of the wider network. 

Professor Tony Roskilly from Durham University’s Energy Institute (DEI) said: “We are delighted to be able to support this project. DEI strongly believes that the gas industry has a crucial role to play in decarbonising UK heating, industry and transport.

“Hydrogen is set to be a vital energy vector in our transition to ‘net zero’ and the planned roadmap of activities at DNV GL Spadeadam will allow collaborative work, which is essential.

“The transportation of hydrogen will be a significant part of the future energy system and there is an urgent need to prove that the transmission network can be relied on in the same way it is today. This is the important focus of HyNTS FutureGrid.

“Today’s announcement brings the UK closer to making transformative hydrogen supply and distribution a reality. We look forward to supporting DNV GL and the project partners in their work to understand the challenges of distributing hydrogen through our national gas network.” 

DEI will collaborate with National Grid Gas Transmission to develop future R&D programmes on topics including hydrogen storage and compression, understanding consumer demand and the development of new standards and regulations.

Ofgem’s Network Innovation Competition will provide £9m of funding, with the remaining amount coming from project partners. The project aims to commence construction in 2021, with testing beginning in 2022.

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