Page 6 - Gi flipbook June/July 2018

NEWS | INDUSTRY

Inside one of ITM Power's
power-to-gas plants
Study suggests green hydrogen

could be delivered at scale

AMBITIOUS PLANS able to be produced and storing excess renewable The news came just days
to harness hydrogen’s blended with natural gas, energy, decarbonising after a pioneering project in
potential as a form of a large area of the existing transport with a particular Austria confirmed it would
energy storage and then NGN grid could support focus on heavier vehicles, move forward with plans
inject the resulting green power-to-gas. and curbing emissions from for world’s largest pilot
gas into the existing gas The report identified four the heat network. facility for the production
network could be delivered potential sites for power-to- “Power-to-gas technology of green hydrogen as part
at scale, according to a gas conversion units, with has the potential to answer of its work to decarbonise
major new government- NGN’s existing InTEGReL some of our key energy steel production.
backed feasibility study. (Integrated Transport storage challenges because The H2FUTURE
Northern Gas Networks Electricity and Gas of the gas network’s sheer consortium officially
(NGN) and hydrogen Research Laboratory) site size and flexibility,” said approved the plans for
technology specialist ITM in Gateshead highlighted Mark Horsley, CEO of the 6MW project, which is
Power have announced the as the best location for Northern Gas Networks, in now expected to be fully
results of a collaborative a first-of-its kind, large- a statement. “This study has operational by spring 2019.
desktop study, funded by the scale demonstration plant delivered some compelling Bart Biebuyck, Executive
Department for Business, with between 50MW and results and insight into how Director of the Fuel
Energy and Industrial 100MW of capacity. a whole systems approach Cells and Hydrogen
Strategy (BEIS) to explore The company said it and green hydrogen can Joint Undertaking (FCH
the potential for large scale could use renewable facilitate decarbonisation JU), said the EU-backed
power-to-gas installations. power to produce low across all energy vectors.” project “demonstrates that
The study examined carbon hydrogen which The report recommends greening large industry,
potential deployment of could then be blended a Front End Engineering such as steelmaking, is
large-scale storage capacity with natural gas to provide Design (FEED) study is now feasible and is a viable
of 50MW and above greener gas to more than undertaken to examine option in the near future”.
within the boundaries of 243,000 domestic and the build of a large-scale “Moreover, this project
NGN’s distribution network, industrial customers in the power-to-gas demonstrator successfully shows sector
reports BusinessGreen. region, while also providing at the InTEGReL site. coupling,” he added. “Both
It concluded that after hydrogen to a local Horsley said he hoped the these aspects are vital in
accounting for seasonal hydrogen refuelling station. project would “lead to a firm proving that hydrogen
variations in gas demand Advocates of hydrogen commitment for real-world is an important piece of
and the amount of technologies maintain it power-to-gas projects in the the puzzle in achieving
hydrogen that would be has a major role to play in UK in the near future”. European climate goals.” ■

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News.indd 1 17/05/2018 13:49