HyDeploy project to add hydrogen to a UK gas network

In the first trial of its kind in the UK, the HyDeploy project will inject hydrogen into an existing natural gas network.

Backed by Ofgem’s Network Innovation Competition, the £7m project is being led by Cadent in partnership with Northern Gas Networks, Keele University, the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL), ITM Power, and Progressive Energy. It is supported by KIWA Gastec and engineering consultancy Otto Simon.

In 2019 HyDeploy will blend up to 20 per cent of hydrogen (by volume) with the normal gas supply in part of Keele University’s gas network.

Simon Fairman, director of Safety and Network Strategy, Cadent, said: “Hydrogen has the potential to address one of the most difficult sources of carbon emissions – heat. This trial could pave the way for a wider roll out of hydrogen blending, enabling us to begin cutting carbon emissions from heat as early as the mid-2020s, without customers needing to change their gas appliances or behaviour.