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whether or not hydrogen is desirable terms of performance and costs Consideration should be given
in terms of the economy, society and prior to embarking on their next to creating a strategic partnership
the environment. phase of development. with industry to attract recruits from
However, it is recognised that any schools, colleges and universities.
proposal to deploy hydrogen at scale Prepare a transition programme This may include specific incentives
will need to be sufficiently compelling Fundamental to the deployment of on regulated companies to implement
to compensate for the lack of experience hydrogen is a comprehensive and robust a sustainable pipeline of skills required
and the accelerated timescale. transition programme. This needs to to meet the resource requirements of
Hence it is important that the include sufficient detail to ensure the the energy transition.
engineering risks and uncertainties identification of critical path items and
identified are comprehensively their associated uncertainties.
addressed before a programme of large- Assumptions will need to be In the longer term, it may be
scale deployment is commenced. underpinned by evidence and, where possible for larger volumes
In addition to the core questions, the evidence is not available, it will need to of hydrogen to be produced
following key recommendations are made: be sought. This will also be helpful in the
identification of those assets or activities from low-carbon sources, but
Progress CCUS infrastructure which need to be deployed early. it is unlikely to be within a
Without the simultaneous deployment Examples range from large assets, timescale to support a sizeable
of a carbon capture, utilisation and such as reforming plants, but might contribution to the UK meeting
storage (CCUS) infrastructure, hydrogen also include assets such as hydrogen-
does not have a future for large-scale ready boiler appliances. its 2050 greenhouse gas targets
retrofit deployment to industry, homes Domestic households present
and businesses. considerable uncertainties in terms
This is because in the immediate of the work that needs to be done Fund the programme
future the bulk production of hydrogen prior to conversion, particularly The transition programme will
will require gas reforming technologies as they present an “uncontrolled” require substantial investment over
which produce large volumes of CO2. environment with the possibility of many years.
Without a CCUS infrastructure, unsafe appliances and infrastructure The H21 North of England study
hydrogen production will be dependent that will need to be addressed. costed the capital investment at around
on electrolysis supplied from low-carbon This was a feature of the more recent £23 billion with approximately 3.8
sources such as renewable technologies conversion on the Isle of Man from million “meter points” (buildings)
with some production from biomass. propane to natural gas, as well as the UK’s converted, i.e., around £6k/building.
This would constrain hydrogen to conversion programme from town gas to This will require commitment from
sectors of the transport market and natural gas in the 1960s and 1970s. many different parties and for such
specialist niche heat markets. There are lessons to be learnt from a commitment it is essential that a
In the longer term, it may be possible the UK’s conversion programme in the stable funding regime is assured and
for larger volumes of hydrogen to be 1960s. For example, a pilot scheme on underpinned by central and local
produced from low-carbon sources, but Canvey Island was implemented with government policy in conjunction with
it is unlikely to be within a timescale to natural gas supplied from imported LNG Ofgem and other regulatory parties.
support a sizeable contribution to the UK to approximately 7,000 buildings prior
meeting its 2050 greenhouse gas targets. to the main conversion programme. Conclusion
Public relations were a prominent and Getting this work done is now urgent
Deploy critical new technology important feature of the programme if we are to achieve net-zero by 2050.
The large-scale deployment of hydrogen and this is likely to be essential for the The group that has come together for
to homes and businesses will involve conversion to hydrogen. this work is keen to remain engaged in
the introduction of new technologies Hydrogen blending with natural helping to drive outcomes that facilitate
for which there is limited experience. gas may assist in making consumers large-scale deployment – making
Projections of cost and performance comfortable with the concept of sure policy thinking in hydrogen is
are essential in the evaluation of hydrogen as a fuel gas and would informed by impartial engineering
such technologies, but can never provide some essential infrastructure advice, assessing the outcomes of the
match actual deployment along with on which to build a 100 per cent various projects and pilot deployments,
operational experience. hydrogen supply. and supporting any further work
Hence the concept of “learning commissioned to fill the gaps in our
by doing” is needed to ensure Develop skills and plan resources engineering understanding.
uncertainties can be evaluated and the Transitioning to hydrogen will require The institutions involved in this
risks minimised. Historical evidence for resources ranging from craft skills, report stand ready to do that and hope
the time taken for energy supply and technicians, planning and design this report helps its intended audience
energy end use technologies to reach engineers, academic and industrial – policymakers, who will soon need to
widespread deployment range from 20 researchers though to project make choices regarding how heat will
to 70 years. management and customer-facing skills. be decarbonised.
Compressing the deployment to 30 Again this will require commitment
years will be challenging, but can be from many different parties, e.g., Access the full Transitioning to
helped through the identification and early the gas industry, other industries, Hydrogen report at www.igem.org.uk/
deployment of critical new technologies. training organisations, academia, news-and-publications/transitioning-
These would then need to be research establishments and to-hydrogen-assessing-the-engineering-
subjected to accelerated evaluation in engineering institutions. risks-and-uncertainties

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