SGN is aiming to build a world-first programme using green hydrogen to heat homes in Scotland, if its proposals are approved by Ofgem.
On 18 May, it said that its H100 Fife project, part of the Gas Goes Green initiative, will demonstrate every aspect of an end-to-end hydrogen-to-homes system to support plans for large scale rollout in the future. It has passed the initial screening submission process for Ofgem’s Network Innovation Competition, with a full bid for funding to be submitted in the summer.
If successful, it would see a 100% zero-carbon hydrogen network built in Levenmouth, producing hydrogen through an electrolysis plant powered by the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult’s nearby offshore wind turbine. The proposed hydrogen production and storage system and heating network would run alongside the current natural gas system. An on-site storage unit will hold enough hydrogen, ensuring supply is not disrupted during the coldest weather conditions. Customers will be able to participate on an opt-in basis, with a demonstration facility within the project also proposed, allowing customers to interact with hydrogen appliances in a home-like setting before opting in.
Angus McIntosh, Director of Energy Futures at SGN, said: “Hydrogen is an exciting energy vector that at scale could provide similar levels of safe, secure, reliable and affordable energy to what we enjoy now, with minimal disruption for customers. The project will provide key national evidence for hydrogen’s role in the UK’s energy transition and critical insight into the customer value proposition of hydrogen for heat.”
