A hydrogen heating town pilot trial will not be carried out until after a 2026 decision on the role of hydrogen in decarbonising heat, the UK Government has announced.
In 2022 the government had invited four gas distribution networks to submit applications for funding to develop plans for how a hydrogen heating roll-out might take place.
Intended to provide further information on the practicalities of using hydrogen for heating, inform policy decisions and contribute to the development of plans for a hydrogen-heated town by 2030, the government said it received applications from all four networks.
The government today (May 9) announced it had gone back on its plans after “careful consideration” in light of the axing of the hydrogen village trial in Redcar last December (2023).
Read more: Redcar Hydrogen Village trial plans scrapped by UK Government
Northern Gas Networks (NGN) was due to undertake a trial that would see domestic properties in Redcar use hydrogen for heating instead of natural gas. The government said it scrapped the trial due to a lack of low-carbon hydrogen to supply the trial.
However, the trial faced strong local opposition, with residents calling for an independent vote on whether it should go ahead.
“The government has decided not to progress work on a hydrogen town pilot until after 2026 strategic decisions on the role of hydrogen in decarbonising heat,” the May 9 announcement said.
With plans to make a strategic decision on the future of hydrogen in heating in 2026, the government said it will now assess evidence from the SGN Fife heating network trial and “similar schemes across Europe.”
But with the Fife project originally planned to go live this year (2024), in April (2024) SGN revealed it had pushed its Scottish trial back by 12 months, citing delays caused by supply chain and procurement challenges.
Read more: SGN delays UK hydrogen heating network until 2025
Hydrogen for heating has long been one of the most contentious topics in the industry. While the idea could provide a relatively easy way to clean up domestic heating, cost, infrastructure and safety concerns have built a firm opposition against the pathway.
Is there a future for hydrogen heating?
While hydrogen itself is often the focus of debate, its use as a means to heat homes has become one of the most divisive topics in the industry. Although it most certainly is not an isolated concern, the UK can be used to portray the hydrogen for heating debate on levels transcending technicality and financial.
The potential for hydrogen heating homes has been hailed as a way to easily transition the natural gas-heated housing stock to zero-emissions. The UK in particular is a region that could significantly benefit from the method, with 20.7 million or 88% of English dwellings having a gas-fired heating system, according to the UK Government’s English Housing Survey 2020-20211.
Additionally, the need to find an alternative to natural gas-fired heating is ever increasing against the UK’s 2050 Net Zero agenda, with the heating sector accounting for almost one third of the UK’s annual carbon footprint and 17% of heating emissions from building coming from homes2.
The idea of heating hydrogen is often painted as a simple task: change your boiler and a few appliances to hydrogen compliant alternatives and carry on as usual – and to some degree, that is correct…
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