Initial p hases of Cadent ' s H pipeline Future phases of C adent’s H pipeline CO transportation and storage system Future CO pipeline connections
CO
Liverpool
Manchester
Industrial CO capture
CO
H
CO storage
Flint
Low carbon H production
Northwich
Underground H storage
Chester
H blending for homes and business
Industrial H user
H fuelling for transport
Flexible H power generation
H from o shore wind
H
Wrexham
CO shipping
H from solar and wind
Figure 4 Overview of HyNet
Next steps The HyNet project is now moving from the development to the delivery phase. The Vertex hydrogen production facility has already gone through front end engineering design (FEED), and planning permission has been submitted. The Cadent hydrogen distribution pipeline is already in FEED, and consultation is taking place. Inovyn has almost finished the FEED for the hydrogen storage, and soon 1.3 TWh of hydrogen storage will have gone through FEED and consenting. Eni is also at an advanced stage in its engineering and consenting process. HyNet will be able to store 10 MT CO₂ annually by 2030, while almost 50% of the region’s natural gas can be displaced by hydrogen. The project will create an estimated 6,000 new green jobs and help diversify the economy. This is an opportunity for economic redevelopment in the North West and Wales and could support 75,000 jobs. HyNet represents the UK’s first net- zero industrial cluster. The project will not only build on the region’s rich industrial heritage with an estimated economic impact of £17 billion for the North West and North Wales but also reduce the region’s carbon emissions by a quarter within five years. Chris Manson-Whitton chris.mw@progressive-energy.com
Fuel switching to hydrogen has been successfully trialled at Pilkington Glass, which created a world first by firing pure hydrogen in its flat-glass manufacturing process. Similarly, Unilever has successfully trialled hydrogen for generating the steam used in its Port Sunlight plant. Vertex Hydrogen is building a large-scale hydrogen production plant, using Johnson Matthey’s low-carbon hydrogen technology with a conversion efficiency from methane to hydrogen of 85% and a CO₂ capturing efficiency of 97%. The captured CO₂ will be sent via the pipeline for offshore storage. Cadent is building a 120km hydrogen distribution pipeline, which will be connected to the storage of hydrogen in underground salt caverns managed by Inovyn, to balance hydrogen supply and demand and give dispatchable power generation that can compensate for the intermittency of renewables, such as wind and solar power. In the longer term, there is potential for hydrogen to be added to the wider natural gas network as a means of decarbonising household gas supplies. HyNet establishes an infrastructure for all sources of hydrogen, encouraging investments in low-carbon hydrogen from electrolysis (green hydrogen) in this region (see Figure 4 ).
www.decarbonisationtechnology.com
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