Recent research reveals the sheer scale and complexity of the UK’s gas networks, which provide vital heat and power to hundreds of thousands of businesses. But the future of that network is uncertain. We spoke to the Institution of Gas Engineers & Managers about the ideal direction of travel.
Number of businesses connected to the gas network
Did you know there are more than 520,000 businesses connected to the gas network, 67,000 of which are industrial customers, and more than 300 power stations?
These are figures from recent analysis of the gas system in the UK by the Institution of Gas Engineers & Managers (IGEM). The complexity of that system means figuring out exactly what is at stake when it comes to decarbonising the network is crucial. “It’s better to know where everything is rather than making assumptions,” says Oliver Lancaster, IGEM chief executive, explaining the rationale behind the research.
Gas storage is “key to energy security”, IGEM points out. The energy storage capacity in national and local transmission pipelines adds up to 1,715GWh – equivalent to 127 million Tesla Powerwalls, according to IGEM research.
In advance of this year’s Utility Week Live, we spoke with Lancaster to find out how he sees the gas network developing as we head toward a net zero power system.
What role will gas play in the future energy system?
Lancaster: The gas system plays an integral role in delivering a secure energy system for buildings, businesses and power generation, not to mention transport. We’ve grown to have a heavy reliance on it. As far as the energy system of the future goes, we need to deliver something as secure and reliable as we’ve become accustomed to in the fairest, most affordable way.
The gas system will have a role alongside electrification to decarbonise to net zero. The role of the gas system will be to transport a different molecule – that being hydrogen or biomethane.
What’s the current situation with biomethane?
We have a queue of biomethane sites waiting to agree a connection, and more to come. In total, with those flowing and those in the process of connecting, they have capacity to heat 1.2 million homes. With renewable gas connections to the gas grid there are connection constraints, similar to what we’ve seen in the electricity system.
Compression in gas distribution would help significantly with this – that’s what Denmark do: they’ll be operating a fully reverse-flow 100% biomethane network by 2030.
What would you like to see happen in terms of policy for decarbonising heat?
In the immediate future there are a few things that could happen to help.
One thing is to get on with mandating all new boilers to be sold as hydrogen-ready, as developed by the DESNZ Hy4Heat programme. The manufacturers have already said they’ll cost no more than a natural gas boiler, and it means homes are ready for a quick changeover in the event they have the option to take a hydrogen supply in the future.
On heat pumps, if the target remains to install 600,000 per year by 2028, I favour an independent review of hybrid systems to support that target. Until now they’ve only been considered a subset of electrification within policymaking circles, when really they’re a vector of their own.
They are much easier to adopt. You can take the home as it is, without having to make any changes to the fabric of the building – you can essentially put it in place in an existing boiler system, with or without a hot water cylinder or microbore pipe.
Hybrid heating is a ‘low disruption, low expectation of behavioural change’ option that the Climate Change Committee continues to recommend to Government.
It enables the consumer to take advantage of differentials between gas and electricity prices for lowest cost heat, while soaking up renewable electricity when available that’s backed-up by a greening gas grid.
I think if you offered an incentive for hybrids in the region of 50% of the current Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant, which is given for standalone heat pump installations and carries an incentive of £7,500, you could see a high uptake of hybrid systems.
If properties were running on hybrid systems, that biomethane capacity I referred to would serve six million homes – that’s 25% of gas grid-connected homes.
What work has IGEM been doing on hydrogen standards?
We’ve been busy putting the technical standards together for transmission and distribution of 100% hydrogen and hydrogen blends. We’ve also been heavily involved in downstream work, which government has been funding us to do. We want to ensure installers have what they need to safely work on hydrogen systems for domestic and commercial properties. We need to ensure installers have the correct skills, and they are also crucial for any trial of hydrogen in the future.
We need standards for safe works. Other countries around the world are picking up on this and looking to these hydrogen standards to develop their own hydrogen pipeline systems and for hydrogen utilisation.
What work has IGEM been doing on hydrogen standards?
We’ve been busy putting the technical standards together for transmission and distribution of 100% hydrogen and hydrogen blends. We’ve also been heavily involved in downstream work, which government has been funding us to do. We want to ensure installers have what they need to safely work on hydrogen systems for domestic and commercial properties. We need to ensure installers have the correct skills, and they are also crucial for any trial of hydrogen in the future.
We need standards for safe works. Other countries around the world are picking up on this and looking to these hydrogen standards to develop their own hydrogen pipeline systems and for hydrogen utilisation.
How do you see the composition of the future energy mix from a gas perspective?
Natural gas will ultimately have a role in support of system balancing. There will probably be beach consumption of natural gas for producing blue hydrogen with CCS. It will be interesting to see where the balance of blue and green hydrogen goes, and perhaps we will get into white hydrogen [naturally occurring hydrogen that’s a hot topic amongst geologists] too.
In some locations there will be industries that need a methane molecule. When we talk about biomethane and the role of hydrogen, I can’t be certain exactly what area would have which gas.
Our recent research highlights just how complicated the system is. Over 99% of industry is connected to gas distribution – and these businesses share pipes with homes, power stations and commercial buildings like hospitals, schools and military facilities.
When it comes to industry and gas, how do you see things developing?
Some industry will be pretty easy to electrify. Some will have to have molecular energy, like hydrogen, for the high temperatures required. Others may have a product that in theory could be made via an electrified process but the scale of change to assets and CAPEX involved may prohibit it. So, some companies will need a gas molecule long-term – but we just don’t yet know the proportion of businesses in each of these baskets.
HyDeploy has been testing different industries to take a hydrogen blend, while work with industrial clusters and distributed industry has also explored the needs of business for 100% hydrogen.
There is a range of household names who have agreements in place to take hydrogen. Hydrogen blending is now allowed on the network as an offtaker of last resort, but we hope to see blending being opened up to be a strategic offtaker, which will help grow the hydrogen economy and decarbonise industry more quickly. There is also potential for businesses to make biomethane on site and use it as we see at whisky distilleries today, and potential for onsite hydrogen production for industrial companies too – it just depends on how much you need.
Oliver Lancaster is chairing the session 'Hydrogen for industry and transport'. Hear from Oliver and other industry experts at Utility Week Live 2024 (21-22 May, NEC, Birmingham)
How do you feel right now about the messages coming from government about hydrogen?
As I understand it, a lot of the work that is going through the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on storage and transportation is accelerating at a pace greater than anticipated. I'm hearing that we might see the first storage contracts much earlier than we initially thought.
The storage model is being developed hand in hand with the transportation model. And then it’s about making sure those awarded contracts link up to hydrogen production projects. That can only be a good thing. It’s coming from government and needed in industry.
There are clusters where you can begin to make headway with hydrogen, but we shouldn’t forget the rest of industry everywhere else that needs, and is asking for, a networked supply of hydrogen.
To hear more from Oliver about the future of the gas network, sign up to this year’s Utility Week Live here.
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