Leeds could become world's first “hydrogen city”

Northern Gas Networks (NGN) has received funding from the energy regulator Ofgem to explore the possibility of making Leeds a “hydrogen city”. Under the proposals, the city’s entire gas network would become the first in the world to be converted to run on hydrogen, a “green” gas. The £2bn scheme would see Leeds converted by 2025-30. The model could then be extended to other UK cities.  At present, over 80% of homes in the UK use natural gas, which contains carbon dioxide-producing methane, for heating and cooking. Hydrogen produces only water and heat when burnt. Many experts believe that if Britain is to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050, in accordance with the Climate Change Act, then alternative means of heating homes will need to be found.

As the technology for utilising grid-scale hydrogen matures, the question of what to do with it is becoming more than academic. Given the relatively untried nature of technology, with all its potential costs and risks, grid-scale energy providers have been hesitant to take the plunge and invest in a whole new generation of hydrogen infrastructure. But in the north of England, that might be about to change.

Northern Gas Networks, the company responsible for distributing gas across Yorkshire and the north-east, has just raised the possibility of commiting radically to hydrogen technology. In its April report Energising the North, it laid out its ‘H21 Leeds city gate project’, which plans to convert the entire city of Leeds (760,000) from natural gas to hydrogen over the next fifteen years:

The conversion would take place step by step and use the natural gas infrastructure for deliver hydrogen for heating and cooking. It could be paid for in instalments, via energy bills. The timing is also good for such a revolutionary change, as Leeds’ old iron gas pipes are being phased out anyway. By 2030 the city will have a polyethylene network that could take hydrogen.

It’s an expensive prospect, but NGN is banking on the idea that grid-scale hydrogen will take off across the UK, and that the expertise gained from a trial run in Leeds would set the region up to become the UK leader in this new industry.

The UK has made great strides in recent years to decarbonise its economy, but as long as its cities rely on natural gas for heating and cooking, there is a limit to how green the network can become. Widespread conversion from gas to hydrogen would be another huge step towards hitting Britain’s emissions target of an 80 per cent cut in emissions on 1990 levels by 2050.

Nonetheless, there is a long way to go before this plan becomes a reality. NGN is currently seeking £55 million in funding to develop a 100 page roadmap. That plan is scheduled for release next year, at which point the city will decide whether or not to commit to this audacious scheme.