Sphere No.45 (Sep 2018)

PORTS FOCUS OUR GLOBAL GAS FUTURE >> SPHERE #45 2018 12 the technology is better understood and starts to deliver. And this is where we are now for fuel cells in cars – and hydrogen in gas distribution. Hydrogen does not occur naturally in nature and requires energy to be processed, usually from natural gas. But in its pure form, it has a lower energy content and higher burning velocity than gas; bigger burn, less heat. Current home appliances are made for gas with a low hydrogen content. However, NGN is exploring, through its HyDeploy (i.e. hydrogen deployment) research project, whether up to 20% hydrogen can be blended into the normal gas supply to reduce carbon emissions. This joint research project with Cadent and Keele University suggests that, if deployed UK-wide, a hydrogen blend could save around six million tonnes of carbon emissions every year – the equivalent of removing 2.5 million cars from UK roads. Experimentation and success, leading to national deployment, could see the carbon footprint of Britain’s heating alone drop by 30%, making a major contribution to the UK’s obligations under the Paris Agreement, a global climate agreement designed to take steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The HyDeploy programme is only one of many research initiatives underway. For example, the InTEGReL project is a multi- vector collaboration examining how the gas, electricity and oil sectors could work together to efficiently transport and store energy across media. This Gateshead- based project is being undertaken with Newcastle University and Northern Powergrid, exploring battery storage and power-to-gas solutions that could bring benefits to customers – and help Britain vehicles to help reduce local air pollution. For example, NGN is currently working with Leeds City Council to deliver a compressed natural gas (CNG) filling station. Supported by funding of £750,000 from the regulator Ofgem (the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets), NGN is building a high- pressure gas connection which will supply CNG to the filling station, and fuel the city’s fleet of converted CNG bin lorries. Longer term, it’s hoped the station will supply any back-to-depot vehicle in the city. The rubbish may still be stinky, but the engine emissions from the bin lorries will be much cleaner, reducing roadside air pollution. Success will see infrastructure put in place for private vehicles so that owners can also switch to cleaner CNG vehicles. Ofgem is also funding NGN’s Low Carbon Gas Pre-heating project, and £4 million has been dedicated to finding more efficient ways to heat gas before it is transported through the network of pipes. This illustrates an important point – distribution matters. Gains in efficiency by improving transport and reducing leakage can have an impact on our carbon footprint. NGN will reduce pipe leakage by 18% over the next eight years as part of a £1 billion regional pipe upgrade. But the most radical plan in the works may take traditional methane gas out of the pipes completely and replace it with a new source. HYDROGEN IN THE HOLE! Hydrogen has, for some time, been touted as the next big thing. Indeed, it has ascended Gartners’ Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, peaked with promise and then descended into the ‘Trough of Disillusionment’ when hydrogen batteries for vehicles proved heavy and expensive. But in the latter parts of the Cycle comes the ‘Slope of Enlightenment’, when InTEGReL, the UK’s first whole energy systems research and demonstration site, shows how hydrogen can be generated from an electrolyser and stored in the gas network. COOL GAS-TANNIA Britain today is not the same as it was during the Industrial Revolution, when peppered moths rapidly evolved from being predominantly light coloured to predominantly dark coloured so as not to stand out as easy prey against pale trees blackened by pollution generated from burning coal. Horrific air pollution of that scale is now a thing of the past and modern industrial standards are much higher. Today, gas is a big part of a cleaner Britain, having replaced dirty coal in many instances. Carbon emissions are a modern concern though. Over 80% of UK homes use gas for cooking and heating, and the latter generates 35% of UK carbon emissions. Northern Gas Networks (NGN) and Wales & West Utilities are both doing their part to help reduce pollution from homes and help Britain achieve its global commitments to reduce its carbon footprint and hopefully slow the pace of climate change. GO NORTH NGN supplies 2,700,000 customers with gas over a 25,000 sq km range, including urban Leeds – Britain’s third most-polluted city – to remote rural homes. 37,000 km of pipe ensures that the gas is where people need it, when they need it. While the generation of gas does add to Britain’s carbon footprint, it can be reduced. Furthermore, greater use of gas can replace dirty-burning diesel in