Learnings

Outcomes

In addition to the detailed work package reports and the final Summary report submitted to the gas networks, below are the recommendations resulting from the project.

• Commission a peer review, by a reputed UK university, on the application of LOHC’s for the inter-seasonal storage of hydrogen for heat networks. Since this is a new and emerging technology area and requires significant scale up and technology development, the peer review should also include an assessment of any barriers that may not enable LOHC technology or the storage vessels to be scaled up to the size of systems needed for inter-seasonal storage.
• Develop a demonstration project for an LOHC system used for inter-seasonal storage applications. An assessment of the relative costs and benefits of this approach are outlined in the final report.
• This will start with an assessment of the carrier of choice between DBT and BT and the kind of reactor to be used (discreet or hybrid).
• Undertake detailed modelling and optimisation of LOHC storage and production facilities using the outputs from the demonstration facility: considering factors such as production efficiencies with load factor, limitations on turn-up and down rates and energy price variation to further understand the potential future storage system.
• Develop chemical engineering plant models that will be used to provide budgetary cost estimates of large-scale facilities on the roadmap of scaling up LOHC systems to inter-seasonal storage of >1 million heat users. This will include the feasibility of large scale LOHC storage vessels that would be required.
• In parallel, activities to assess ammonia (which has similar economics but higher safety risks) and alternative geological storage options (such as aquifers and depleted oil and gas reservoirs, where the economics are unclear and technical challenges need to be addressed) for inter-seasonal storage should be carried out. 
• The global developments and commercialisation efforts occurring for LOHCs and ammonia should be monitored by commissioning a technology watch. All of these technologies have low TRL aspects of the supply chain and so developments may help to accelerate or influence the roadmap set-out in the final report. In addition, advances in the commercialisation of LOHC technology are required to realise the cost reductions noted in the final report.
• Encourage UK based engineering and operation expertise for LOHC systems, for example by following the development pathway mapped, to allow the export of skills for LOHC system operators as hydrogen develops globally.
• Develop a demonstration project for LOHC systems used for the delivery of hydrogen to, or balancing of on-site renewable hydrogen production, for an SIU and for delivery of hydrogen to an industrial user. To prove the use of LOHC in these applications and demonstrate the next step of a larger scale system.    

Lessons Learnt

Importance of a technology and industry watch during the course of the project, when assessing new and emerging technology areas. If the technology is of longer term interest then a technology watch should be commissioned in order to keep abreast with changes and make sure the gas networks are aligned with the longer term trends of the industry.

Given the innovative nature of the project, a peer review of the project, its findings and conclusions should have been included.