Project Summary
Cross-Vector Energy Hubs can leverage the flexibility of both Electrical and Gas technologies to support the electricity system and release grid capacity via coordination of these parallel energy vectors. The project builds and demonstrates a planning and simulation toolset that evaluates the Cross-Vector Energy Hub, allowing both DNOs and prospective Energy Hub developers/owners to simulate the coordination of electrical and gas technology components. The toolset models the control of device portfolios as configured by user, quantifying the value of constraint-limitation and feasible device coordination (technical), which can then feed into assessment of the commercial value for such coordination (economic).
Innovation Justification
The concept of Multi-Vector Energy Hubs has been presented previously at a conceptual level, however the challenge is that the concept is undemonstrated with enabling technologies and suitable application cases difficult to identify. Therefore, the scale of the benefits that could be realised is unproven, the Discovery Phase CBA shows that there is good reason to expect benefits to be substantial with positive CBAs across all modelled scenarios.
Many of the individual components of the proposed project are at a mature stage of TRL; electrolysers, batteries, and fuel cells have all been demonstrated individually and are being successfully operated, giving them a TRL9. However, there is no instance of these technologies being fully integrated and operated as a single multi-vector optimised system, or had implementation models validated through combined modelling and demonstration. We consider the Energy Hub concept to be at a TRL2, this Alpha phase application aims to take this to TRL 3/4 by creating a functional design. The Beta stage demonstration would raise the Energy Hub to a TRL 8.
This project concept will address this gap, by building on the work already done studying the feasibility, value and modelling requirements of Multi-Vector Energy Hubs, through to testing, detailed modelling, and then full network demonstration of the value that can be unlocked for consumers. As there are no deployments of this concept, the full value case of these concepts are yet to be defined, therefore progression of the concept within a BaU environment introduces significant risk to any DNO.
The project requires the gas and electricity networks to be considered as a single system and demonstrates the coordination of new technology for the benefit of the whole system. They will also be able to assess other energy vectors such as heat systems as demands that interact with the system. Such an approach does not fit within the existing price control programmes and requires novel commercial arrangements to facilitate cross vector flexibility and support across the networks. These novel arrangements were explored as part of the Discovery phase, such as the potential development of a flexibility market on the gas networks. The outcomes of this project will help to demonstrate what is possible through a whole system approach, this evidence will help to inform future policy development, improving the efficient and economic running of a coordinated system and delivering benefits through improved price control outcomes.
The project outcomes are highly relevant to Ofgem's Regional Energy Strategic Planners and the National Energy System Operator , both of which will have responsibilities for holistic energy system planning covering electricity, natural gas and future hydrogen gas. Similarly, the tools and learning that will come from this project can help support local authorities through the LEAP process, to make more efficient energy plans, especially where other energy demands such as heating might be met by district heating schemes.
This stage of the project fits directly into the structure of the SIF challenge. At this Alpha stage we will develop the multi-vector, whole system modelling methods that will allow network companies, third party developers, and future local planning authorities, to identify sites for co-optimisation and to minimise network costs by doing so. The Beta phase offers the unique opportunity to calibrate and validate the models through a functional energy hub deployed with collaboration between Northern Powergrid and Northern Gas Networks. This demonstration will provide invaluable knowledge on the technological capabilities required by utility companies for a future in which the energy transition creates fundamentally more interconnected and interdependent systems.
Impacts and Benefits
The Discovery phase demonstrates how Renewable Energy Source electricity export that would be curtailed by the DSO could be converted to green hydrogen within a Cross Vector Energy Hub and used to support the gas distribution network operation or as hydrogen fuel for other use cases such as transport or heating. Curtailment is avoided by managing demand from the hydrogen electrolyser. The Hub supports the following benefits to network operators and customers.
Financial - future reductions in the cost of operating the electricity network.
The Cross Vector Energy Hub solution reduces curtailment levels and effectively allows other RES to connect. The Discovery Phase considered Energy Hub export curtailment avoidance of up to 15% of annual electricity export for a 100kW peak demand site where peak curtailment avoided was 160kW, 98MWh per year. Using a value of £300/kWh for flexible services this translates to a present value of avoided investment in networks of £496k over 25 years and £29k in CO2 reduction by allowing another 160kW of renewable generation to connect. Scaling this up to the equivalent of 50 x 160kW Cross vector Energy Hub sites (8MW) would see these benefits i
Financial - future reductions in the cost of operating the gas network. The potential to inject hydrogen into the gas networks could possibly benefit gas network operators and gas customers by avoiding gas network upgrades.
Financial - cost savings per annum on energy bills for consumers. The Discovery phase showed that in addition, to the reduction in the need for infrastructural build arising from more efficient networks the use of hydrogen as a storage vector can significantly reduce the requirements for battery storage, (an expensive form of energy storage per MWh). Long duration storage is presently still a significant challenge in the transition to renewable forms of electricity increasing the benefits of converting excess electricity into hydrogen to be used either directly or stored until needed. It also demonstrated the potential for reduction of energy lost via curtailment, this is expected to improve renewable generation business cases and could lower the prices they need to charge to recover their investments due to less MWh's lost.
Environmental - carbon reduction -- direct CO2 savings per annum. Many proponents of fossil fuels point to the continued need for the use of natural gas in combined cycle gas turbines as a way of stabilising the electricity grid because of its highly controllable and dispatchable nature. Hydrogen can perform the same role within a system generating electricity from gas in a dispatchable way with no or low carbon emissions. A typical CCGT can return efficiencies of around 50% while a hydrogen fuel cell efficiency is quoted at between 40 and 60% efficiency with some demonstrations reaching as high as 68%.
Revenues - improved access to revenues for users of network services. Hydrogen electrolysers have already been demonstrated successfully as a way of minimising curtailment to renewable generations when co-located in constrained networks. An electrolyser is also a dispatchable form of demand that can contribute to grid stabilising services. Minimising curtailment allows generation users to maximise return on their investments (as well as maximizing low-carbon energy) and avoids the loss of that generation potential. The CBA carried out at Discovery phase strongly supports this conclusion and shows that in addition to operating as an Energy Hub the assets can access broader markets, such as ESO markets or local constraint markets.
Revenues - creation of new revenue streams Energy hubs will allow flexibility service providers to access the opportunity to arbitrage between different vectors, the value case for this was demonstrated at Discovery Phase.
