Hydrogen will play a complementary role in decarbonising heating

Victor Liu, Ph.D.

In August, the HyDploy pilot project in the UK started to blend 20% of hydrogen into the natural gas network in a small village. The project is an integral part of UK’s hydrogen pathway to having the first 100% hydrogen-fuelled town by 2030.

The 20% blend is a threshold that hydrogen can be safely piped through existing gas infrastructure. Higher blend ratio will require upgrading pipelines and appliances.

HyDploy is targeting the heating sector, a major emitter that generates 20-30% of carbon emission in the UK. The decarbonisation effect of the blending will be modest. The 20% blend by volume only reduces carbon emission by 7%. But it marks a solid initial step in evaluating technical and commercial viability of hydrogen heating.

Hydrogen boiler is one of the two competing clean technologies targeting the heating sector. Heating pump is the other one. The UK government made funding commitments to both hydrogen boilers and heat pumps in its “10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution” late last year. For hydrogen, the funding commitment amounts to £500m.

Which one makes more economic sense? Researchers suggest hydrogen boilers to be twice as expensive as heat pumps in Europe. Commercially, green hydrogen cost needs to come down from today’s $5 per kg to $1.5 to compete with heat pumps. This is a challenging magnitude of change for at least a decade to come.

However, while heat pumps could end up being more cost effective than hydrogen, they won’t be suitable for every household. For areas with modest insulation, high frost rate and low hydrogen costs, hydrogen boilers could make a better case.

In addition, a hybrid system using auxiliary hydrogen boilers supplementing heat pumps for cold spells may represent a well-balanced solution, considering both cost and energy stability.

In short, in the coming decade, hydrogen will likely play a complementary role in decarbonising heating in Europe.