Exploring the potential for domestic hydrogen appliances

 with Frazer-Nash Consultancy discusses the findings of a recent study carried out for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). 

The provision of heat currently accounts for approximately half of UK energy consumption and one third of carbon dioxide emissions. The government has signalled its intentions for affordable low-carbon energy through the Clean Growth Strategy, and achieving this is likely to require almost full decarbonisation of heat in buildings. There are a number of technologies with the potential to play a role in decarbonising heat, including heat networks, heat pumps, hydrogen and biogas, but it is not yet clear which will work best at scale.

There has been an increasing interest in the role hydrogen could play in the decarbonisation of heat in the UK. Hydrogen could be used in the existing natural gas system, either by blending with the natural gas or by converting the gas system completely to hydrogen. This has the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions, if low carbon methods of producing hydrogen can be developed and delivered at scale.