Jon Excell

Engineering the hydrogen home

In-Depth

Hydrogen, once on the fringes of the UK energy debate, now looks set to play a starring role in our low carbon future, particularly when it comes to warming up our homes. Jon Excell reports

A semi-detached show-home on the outskirts of Gateshead may seem an unlikely location for a technology revolution.  But when this outwardly unremarkable looking building opens its doors in the coming weeks, it will mark a key moment in the UK’s accelerating transition to a zero-carbon economy.

That’s because the development in question - the latest in a series of pioneering projects being led by the UK gas sector - will be the site of the first UK public demonstration of a home fueled entirely by hydrogen.

With the energy used to heat our homes and workspaces accounting for almost 17 per cent of the UK’s total carbon emissions, a switch to low carbon heating systems will be critical to delivering on the UK’s net zero ambitions.

And whilst it’s expected that a wide range of technologies - including heat pumps, electrification, and even geothermal energy from abandoned coalmines (The Engineer, September 2020) will play a part, there is a growing sense across both industry and government that hydrogen will have the starring role.

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