A SCOTTISH hydrogen storage firm will take part in a major trial looking at potential ways to decarbonise the UK gas network.
National Gas (NG) has secured Ofgem funding to study a new type of underground hydrogen energy storage developed by Edinburgh-based Gravitricity.
Gravitricity has developed H2FlexiStore – a novel, patented technology – which uses the geology of the earth to store up to 100 tonnes of pressurised hydrogen in a lined underground rock shaft.
Gravitricity says it offers safe, low-cost storage which can be located wherever required.
NG – the UK’s gas transmission system owner and operator – is investigating the potential of hydrogen transportation in using the current network infrastructure to support the transition to net zero.
Hydrogen storage could be a key element of any future hydrogen network and options are being reviewed and considered by NG to support supply and demand management.
They have been awarded the first phase of a grant from Ofgem’s £450 million Strategic Innovation Fund to conduct a three-month feasibility study on the use of Gravitricity’s H2FlexiStore, which could lead to a full-scale demonstrator project commencing in 2025.
H2FlexiStore could then provide an option for intermediate storage across the UK alongside long-term storage already in development with NG.
Commenting on the initiative, Gravitricity co-founder and executive chairman Martin Wright said: “The future large-scale adoption of green hydrogen in industrial processes and for heat and transport will require safe and cost-effective mid-scale hydrogen storage which can be located wherever required – both in distribution networks and at point of use.”
He continued: “Each H2FlexiStore can store up to 100 tonnes of pressurised green hydrogen safely below ground in a lined rock shaft which can be built more cheaply than above-ground vessels, with a much smaller visual footprint.
“We believe it will be a key technology in gas networks of the future and we look forward to working closely with National Gas to share our combined expertise.”
NG head of innovation Corinna Jones said: “Hydrogen storage will be important in ensuring a robust and resilient supply of energy to the UK in the energy transition.
“Novel technologies and solutions such as this are key to helping us achieve net-zero targets by 2050.”
The project will be funded by energy network users and consumers through the Strategic Innovation Fund, a programme from the UK’s independent energy regulator Ofgem managed in partnership with Innovate UK.
National Gas applied to Round 3 of the SIF as part of a consortium including Gravitricity, Southern Gas Networks, the University of Edinburgh, Energy Reform and Revolutionary Engineering and Design in the category: ‘Enabling power-to-gas (P2G)’ which has a theme focusing on “Commercial and technical innovation to secure system benefits from hydrogen storage deployments.”
National Gas and Gravitricity will now go through an initial Discovery phase which includes a feasibility study of 2-3 months.
They may then be selected for future phases including:
Alpha: proof of concept projects, lasting 6 months with a budget up to £500,000
Beta: large-scale demonstrator developments, lasting up to 5 years, with no upper limit of funding.
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