Project Summary
Low carbon hydrogen can be used to decarbonise industrial processes, to provide heat, for transport and for electricity production. Production of hydrogen through electrolysis using renewable energy is a way of using up excess renewable energy and the hydrogen can be stored and used later during periods of peak demand.Cadent is developing a 100% hydrogen pipeline network in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire to connect clusters of potential hydrogen users and producers.This project will investigate options for medium and large-scale storage ofhydrogen to enable the flexible use of hydrogen in the region.
Innovation Justification
Until now most work on large-scale hydrogen storage has been focused onsolution-mined caverns and to a lesser extent depleted gas reservoirs and salineaquifers. Approximately 4TWh of hydrogen storage is forecasted to come online insalt cavern storage in the NW and NE, but the pipeline connections to these fromthe Midlands will not be in place until the mid 2030s, which could hamper efforts todevelop a hydrogen network in the Midlands prior to this date.
The core innovation aspect of this project is to undertake a first of its kindfeasibility study into the suitability of the geology of the Midlands to host thesestorage technologies. This will produce a catalogue of the cost-effective mediumand large-scale hydrogen storage options in the Midlands, determining their prosand cons (such as capacity, TRL), and developing an understanding of costs fordifferent options and technical issues. We will then match these against thedetermined hydrogen production, demand and storage needs, in order to identifythe most viable storage options to progress to the next R&D stage.
This work will be the first ever time that depleted UK oil fields have beeninvestigated as potential hydrogen stores.
An alternative approach to addressing the storage requirements would be toconsider above ground storage in carriers such as ammonia or metal hydrides, orstorage in small pressurised vessels. These approaches have been discountedbecause of the high expense and low quantities able to be stored.
As there is no current UK market for hydrogen storage and some of the optionsare at lower TRLs. The project needs innovation funding to move quickly throughthe TRL process to prepare the information required for a full-scale application tothe upcoming Hydrogen Storage Business Model. SIF is most suitable for thisproject given it is a network innovation.
The assessment and mapping of potential storage areas will be informed using arange of publicly available subsurface and surface datasets (e.g., subsurfaceinterpretations, published datasets detailing relevant rock characteristics). BGSwill apply methods and analytical techniques that have been specially developedto describe potential for hydrogen storage in the subsurface. These methods havebeen published and subjected to peer-review in scientific literature.
Impacts and Benefits
Benefit 1: Reducing CAPEX costs for Net Zero: Currently there is no intermediate-scale hydrogen storage in the region. Indicative analysis by Cadent has identified three possible counterfactuals to intermediate-scale storage which show a range of possible savings of 6-25% from storage deployment (similar to the estimate 10% saving in the Guidehouse Study referenced in Question 4). As part of the project, the most appropriate counter-factual to storage can be identified and analysis developed to ground the details CAPEX benefit.
Measurement 1: Percentage saving on CAPEX by deploying intermediate-scale hydrogen storage instead of counter-factual solution.
Benefit 2: Use of Curtailed Windpower. Currently there is no hydrogen production in the region and no medium to large scale storage. Annual hydrogen production that has been stored will be produced from renewable energy, a proportion of which would have been otherwise curtailed. This figure will be projected.
Measurement 1:MWh of curtailed windpower used to produce stored hydrogen. Measurement 2: Value of £ saved on avoided curtailment costs.
Benefit 3: Industrial Decarbonisation. Currently there is no pipeline network and no storage. Construction of the hydrogen pipeline network will enable additional industrial customers to be connected and enable flexible power generators to be connected to the network.
Measurement 1: No of sites connected to network with hydrogen storage in the region without additional (non-linepack) storage. Measurement 2: Hydrogen utilised by those customers, with and without additional (non-linepack) storage TWh/year. Measurement 3: Tonnes of carbon dioxide saved annually with and without additional (non-linepack) storage.
Benefit 4: Creation of new revenue streams: Currently no income is being generated from medium to large scale storage of hydrogen in the region. Income generated from potential hydrogen storage in the Midlands can be estimated based on the shortlisted options that are identified in the Discovery Stage.
Measurment 1: GWh of hydrogen that could potentially be stored in the midlands from identified and feasible options. Measurement 2: £ generated per day by the asset owner if the technology is exploited.
Benefit 5: Market Transformation: There is currently no market for hydrogen storage in the Midlands. New local storage would create new management and operational jobs.
Measurement 1: Estimated number of jobs created/protected in the Midlands if fossil fuels assets transition to hydrogen storage, or if new assets are created.
