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Industry heavyweight INOVYN joins North West Hydrogen Alliance
One of the biggest names in the chemicals industry, INOVYN is the latest company to join the North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA).
Following its launch in November 2018, the NWHA is already establishing itself as a prominent voice on the development of a hydrogen economy in the region. INOVYN, a wholly owned subsidiary of INEOS, has joined with Atkins, BOC, Cadent, Costain, Peel Environmental, Shell and the University of Chester to establish the North West of England at the forefront of the UK’s hydrogen journey.
INOVYN is a key player in the burgeoning hydrogen economy in the North West. The company has been producing hydrogen at its Runcorn Site for over one hundred years as a co-product of the chlor-alkali process. Working with fellow Alliance member, Cadent, and other project partners, it recently received Government funding to advance a possible 100MW power-to-gas energy storage facility at the Runcorn Site. The project, dubbed Project Centurion, will explore how energy storage can produce low carbon hydrogen for heat, decarbonisation of industry, and transport fuels as well as contributing towards energy security.
Richard Stevenson, Storage Projects Manager for INOVYN said:
“Hydrogen energy could be transformational for the North West and INOVYN is delighted to be working alongside other Alliance members to drive this forward. The Alliance is making a strong case for hydrogen in the region, shining a spotlight on the wide variety of initiatives taking place.
“Hydrogen production, supply and use has been happening in the North West for many years, so we’re ideally placed to drive innovation in the sector.”
Professor Joseph Howe, Chair of the NWHA and Executive Director of the Thornton Energy Institute, said:
“It is a great privilege to welcome such a well known name to the Alliance. INOVYN are at the forefront of hydrogen innovation in the region and their knowledge, expertise and influence will be a real asset to our work.
“2019 is set to be a pivotal year for the development of the hydrogen economy with the North West set to play a key part. Welcoming INOVYN to the Alliance underpins just how big an opportunity this is and how important it is for the region to collaborate in driving hydrogen forward. There are hydrogen projects happening right now in the North West which could be game-changers in the journey to a low-carbon future.”
Hydrogen could play a key role in decarbonising the UK’s energy systems and meeting Climate Change obligations, as well as driving regional economic growth. Studies show the development of a major hydrogen cluster could deliver £17 billion in Gross Value Added for the North West, creating nearly 6000 jobs and saving 1 million tonnes of CO2 every year.
In addition to Project Centurion, other key projects taking place in 2019 include:
- Cadent’s HyNet programme, based on the production of hydrogen from natural gas, is a ‘first of its kind’. This hydrogen could be used in industry, homes and transport across the North West. Carbon dioxide produced from this process, and from other industry in the region, would be captured and transported to soon-to-be depleted gas reservoirs in the East Irish sea for storage.
- The UK Government Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS) Innovation fund is a £15million pot offering matched funding for innovative CCUS projects and research into CCUS technology. The North West offers the most practical and low cost scale option for CCUS in the UK; and it’s a vital part of the HyNet picture. A business consortium has submitted a bid for government funding to start early work on defining carbon capture and storage in the NW. Successful bidders are due to be announced soon.
- Cadent has been given the green light for the first live trial of blended hydrogen and natural gas for domestic gas customers in the North of England through the HyDeploy If successful, the trials would build support for a much wider roll out including via HyNet.
- The Government has committed £20 million as part of the Clean Growth Strategy to investigate the development of low cost, low carbon hydrogen for industry, buildings and transport and help create hundreds of clean industry jobs. The Hydrogen Supply Competition will provide businesses with funding to develop hydrogen solutions so that the technology can become a competitive, clean energy supply of the future. With applications closing at the end of last year, successful bidders are expected to be announced imminently.
- The region has already been recognised by Government as a potential industrial cluster as part of its Industrial Clusters mission, which is set to ramp up in 2019. Partners are coming together in the region to put the best case forward to Government for why the Merseyside area should be leading the charge as a top location for global inward investment in low carbon products and technologies.
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Public acceptability of the use of hydrogen for heating and cooking in the home
Download the report here.
BLOG – Could 2019 be the year for hydrogen?
Could 2019 be the year for hydrogen?
With hydrogen firmly on the Government’s clean growth agenda, 2019 is set to be a transformational year for this low carbon fuel. Chair of the North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA) Professor Joe Howe takes a look ahead at how the region could benefit from this energy revolution.
The North West Hydrogen Alliance was established with a clear aim – to demonstrate how the region can take advantage of the huge opportunity hydrogen energy represents. Bringing together industry leaders Atkins, BOC, Cadent, Costain, Peel Environmental, INOVYN, Shell and the University of Chester it aims to put the North West at the forefront of the UK’s hydrogen journey.
Hydrogen could be a lynchpin for growth, boosting the North West’s economy and becoming a magnet for inward investment. Studies show the development of a major hydrogen cluster could deliver £17 billion in Gross Value Added for the North West, creating nearly 6000 jobs.
2019 could be a pivotal year for the development of the hydrogen economy with the North West set to play a key part. Cadent’s HyNet programme, based on the production of hydrogen from natural gas, is a ‘first of its kind’. This hydrogen could be used in industry, homes and transport across the North West. Carbon dioxide produced from this process, and from other industry in the region, would be captured and transported to soon to be depleted gas reservoirs in the East Irish sea for storage.
The North West offers the most practical and low cost scale option for CCUS in the UK; and it’s a vital part of the HyNet picture. A business consortium has submitted a bid for government funding to start early work on defining carbon capture and storage in the NW. The UK Government CCUS Innovation fund is a £15million pot offering matched funding for innovative CCUS projects and research into CCUS technology. It is due to announce the successful bidders soon.
Cadent has also been given the green light for the first live trial of blended hydrogen and natural gas for domestic gas customers in the North of England through the HyDeploy programme. If successful, the trials would build support for a much wider roll out including via HyNet.
Project Centurion has received Government funding to advance a possible 100MW power-to-gas energy storage project at the INOVYN Runcorn site, which already produces hydrogen as a co-product of the chlor-alkali process. Project partners ITM Power, INOVYN, Storengy, Cadent and Element Energy will be exploring how energy storage can produce low carbon hydrogen for heat, decarbonisation of industry, and transport fuels as well as contributing towards energy security. Building on the work of the HyDeploy programme it will develop a full deployment plan for hydrogen blending on the gas network.
The Government has committed £20 million as part of the Clean Growth Strategy to investigate the development of low cost, low carbon hydrogen for industry, buildings and transport and help create hundreds of clean industry jobs. The Hydrogen Supply Competition will provide businesses with funding to develop hydrogen solutions so that the technology can become a competitive, clean energy supply of the future. With applications closing at the end of last year successful bidders are expected to be announced imminently.
The region has already been recognised by Government as a potential industrial cluster as part of its Industrial Clusters mission, which is set to ramp up in 2019. Partners are coming together in the region to put the best case forward to Government for why the Merseyside area should be leading the charge as a top location for global inward investment in low carbon products and technologies.
By positioning the North West as UK leader, the region will unlock significant investment in the development, design and engineering of hydrogen infrastructure. 2019 is set to be an exciting year for energy in the North West, so watch this space.
Making hydrogen more cost efficient
Repurposing of infrastructure in the North West – Making hydrogen more cost efficient
For large scale hydrogen adoption, the UK would require large scale production, storage and transport. To implement this decarbonisation strategy would require significant investment and supporting infrastructure. However, by repurposing existing assets in new, innovative ways to support an end-to-end hydrogen lifecycle, offers a cost efficient, achievable route.
As shown in the ‘Liverpool-Manchester Hydrogen Cluster’ and Hynet projects, the North West of England has many geographical strengths as a hub for hydrogen production, transportation and storage. This is supported by the existing infrastructure and industrial assets in the North West (NW), which could be repurposed to help deliver a large-scale hydrogen economy. The following strengths and natural resources of the NW region can offer a cost-efficient hydrogen pathway:
- The NW is home to large offshore windfarms such as Barrow, Walney and West of Duddon Sands. It has been shown that offshore turbines generate about 35-50% of the time[1], but some of these generation periods are constrained. Wind generation combined with an electrolysis plant to produce hydrogen could offer higher overall efficiency and useful energy in the form of hydrogen (for transport, heat etc.)
- Natural gas is currently stored in the Cheshire salt caverns, for example at Storengy’s Stublach site. If these caverns were to be repurposed they could be used as an economical and safe means of bulk hydrogen storage. A recent study by Atkins, has shown the capability of Cheshire caverns to be used as a H2 energy store for intermittent 1GWe peaking operation (when combined with the latest H2-ready gas turbines).
- As part of the 30:30 Iron Mains project, the UK is upgrading all metallic mains piping within 30m of premises to Polyethene piping by 2030. This was in response to a HSE requirement, but inadvertently, the upgraded pipelines may also be suitable for hydrogen service, which would futureproof the gas pipe network.
- In the North West, projects within Powerhouse energy and Inovyn (Runcorn chemical plant) are already producing hydrogen either though waste feedstocks or as a by-product. Demonstrator projects in low carbon transport or heat are needed in the region to benefit from these opportunities.
- The recent announcement by Alstom to convert a fleet of electric trains to Hydrogen in the UK, by 2022, offers an opportunity to support this project. This is reinforced further, as the planned rail conversion are at Alstoms facility at Widnes, near Liverpool. The NW could be the testbed for a network of supporting H2 rail infrastructure (e.g. H2 refuelling stations) that would later be rolled out across the UK.
- The Clean Growth Strategy (2017) set out a new revitalised Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) approach in the UK. This recognises the potential of CCUS to aid decarbonisation across power, industry, and heat. The integration of CCUS technologies with hydrogen is key to offering hydrogen at the lowest cost. For instance, the H21 Leeds project concluded that H2 is most economically produced via Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) with CCS fitted. The recent consenting for new large Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) plants in the NW, combined with the industrial clusters, means SMR with CCS is an extremely credible solution for large scale hydrogen production.
- Moreover, it is estimated that the Liverpool oil and gas fields have the potential capacity to store 130 million tonnes of CO2 with additional fields nearby. Heat produced through Steam Methane Reforming can also be distributed in local heat generation networks; further optimising the process.
- Liverpool Port is undergoing the Liverpool 2 upgrade allowing deep water container ships to berth. This would allow the world’s largest vessels to enter the port, increasing shipping trade and could allow the transport of hydrogen and CO2 .
Overall the North West’s diverse history, current infrastructure and skilled workforce make it a strong choice for future hydrogen investment which could create a sustainable system to supply the vast energy demand of the region.
[1] Based on UK offshore wind capacity factors article, provided by energynumbers.info, viewed Jan 2018.
Connected Future Cities
Peel Environmental’s Tony Smith is speaking at Connected Future Cities on 28th March.
Tickets can be booked here:
https://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/events/connected-future-cities/
Energy Innovation District secures funding
Energy Innovation District secures funding for pioneering £200k smart grid project in Cheshire
The North West Energy Innovation District (EID) has been awarded funding by UK Research and Innovation to deliver the first stage of the ‘E-Port Smart Energy Master Plan’ – a local, smart energy system based around the industrial heartland of Ellesmere Port. The £200k project, match funded by the EID members, is one of the first concept and design studies awarded under the Government’s ‘Prospering from the energy revolution’ programme.
It aims to develop a nationally-replicable model for a local private grid that can deliver low-cost, low-carbon energy for industrial, commercial and domestic users. The master plan will set out a ten-year private sector investment programme in smart energy solutions that is scalable across the UK.
Spearheaded by the Cheshire Energy Hub, the Energy Innovation District brings together energy users, network owners, innovators and partners – including EA Technology, Burns & McDonnell, Urenco, Cadent Gas, SP Energy Networks and Peel Environmental – working alongside Cheshire & Warrington LEP, Cheshire West and Chester Council and the University of Chester.
With the objective of driving down the cost of clean energy the EID is an opportunity to deliver a new decarbonised energy system for the North West of England, meeting the Government’s Clean Growth agenda while boosting economic growth and investment.
Ged Barlow, Chair of the Energy Innovation District said:
“This is an important step forward for the Energy Innovation District and highlights the potential of the North West to lead the charge on decentralized energy systems. What makes the EID truly innovative is the clustering of energy intensive industries alongside energy sources, an established supply chain and a critical mass of energy ‘know how’ and R&D.
“With the private and public sector working together, this project will show how connecting energy users to local sources of energy generation can reduce costs, cut carbon emissions and increase energy security. The impacts could be huge with the aim to create a network where energy costs are cut by at least 20%.”
Councillor Karen Shore, Cabinet Member Environment, Cheshire West & Chester Council said:
“The economy of the North West of England, and particularly Cheshire, is driven by energy, with around 5% of the UK’s energy currently consumed in north Cheshire. The region is leading innovation in the sector and we have the opportunity to put Cheshire on the map with the UK’s first major industry backed local energy system.
“This project could potentially unlock significant private sector investment in the North West and deliver a range of high-value jobs. In a more competitive post-Brexit market, energy intensive companies, like Vauxhall, are looking for lower cost and decarbonised energy supplies. Creating an energy market where energy can be traded locally is part of a low-carbon, low-cost future that will ensure Cheshire remains a competitive place to do business.”
Myles Kitcher from Peel Environmental said:
“Our job is to prove that a local energy system is both scalable and replicable. We have the opportunity to be world leaders, testing the deployment of game-changing technology which could transform the way that people and businesses purchase energy in the future. The vision is that by using smart technologies consumers will be able to switch energy supply based on the most competitive price offering greater choice and transparency.”
Garfield Southall, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Chester, said:
“We are thrilled that this funding bid has come to fruition. Innovation in energy research – including the decarbonisation of gas, the hydrogen economy, and intelligent energy management systems – is at Thornton’s core, with its flagship Energy Centre, the development of undergraduate and postgraduate skills in related areas, and an array of energy-related companies on site.”
The project will develop a proposal for a multi vector (electricity, gas, heat and hydrogen) energy system that is capable of being scaled up to other regions of the UK. It is based on an innovative operating system which will be the first digital and virtual platform for the smart management of the whole energy network.
Work is already underway in the region to create a local grid with £14m investment committed at Peel Environmental’s Protos site. This will provide a grid connection to connect local power generation assets, such as Bioenergy Infrastructure Group’s 21.5MW biomass facility, through a micro-grid to existing energy intensive manufacturing.
The study will start in January 2019 and is due to finish in July 2019. The EID is looking to the local community and businesses to provide data on their energy usage. To take part, contact e-portenergy@cheshireenergyhub.co.uk . All data received will be treated confidentially. For more information visit www.energyinnovationdistrict.com.
BLOG – Energy Transformation in the North West
This blog originally appeared on Place North West and can be viewed here.
It’s not often that the property sector really talks about energy,writes Jane Gaston of Protos, part of Peel Environmental. I’m sure as developers, conversations around grid connections and infrastructure will feature, but how often does the industry really think about where the energy comes from and how secure it is?
Energy is essential to delivering economic growth and prosperity. If you can’t switch the lights on or get to where you need to be then how can we expect the regional economy to grow? A recent report by MetroDynamics ‘Investing in the Future’ argues that prioritising spending on regional infrastructure is vital to grow and rebalance the economy.
Energy costs contribute to competitive manufacturing. When investors from around the world are looking where to bring their next logistics hub, commercial premises, industrial warehouses or specialised manufacturing facilities, they need not only the sites with access and infrastructure but an energy supply to make all three work, so their products can compete in global markets.
We have the opportunity to lead the charge when it comes to energy. Peel Environmental is one of the founding members of the North West Hydrogen Alliance which has come together to highlight how the North West could make hydrogen energy a reality in the UK. The Alliance members – Atkins, BOC, Cadent, Costain, Shell and the University of Chester alongside Peel Environmental – are collaborating to support the development of hydrogen-focused decarbonised energy.
We’re in a pretty unique position in the North West with the industry, infrastructure and innovation to lead the UK’s hydrogen energy revolution, bringing with it huge benefits to the region in new jobs, skills and investment.
Why bother? Well, the 2008 Climate Change Act has set the UK a legal obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including CO2, by 80% by 2050. To do this we need to find ways of decarbonising our energy systems. Hydrogen could provide clean energy for our homes, businesses and transport networks. It offers a way to deliver low carbon energy because when consumed it doesn’t produce CO2, just water and energy. Hydrogen is a flexible and secure energy vector which is already being used in vehicle fleets and industry.
Hydrogen production and use has been happening in the region for many years, such as BOC’s hydrogen plant in St Helens. PowerHouse Energy is developing technologies to turn waste plastic into hydrogen. The Centurion project at Runcorn is assessing production of hydrogen from electrolysis whilst Cadent’s large-scale HyNet project is aimed at producing hydrogen to help decarbonise industrial, domestic and transport markets.
In November, more than £14m in funding was awarded to Cadent to run field trials on public gas networks in the North West, blending hydrogen with natural gas to heat around 750 homes in year-long trials. Starting in 2019, the four-year programme will monitor the performance and safety of using hydrogen to heat homes and build support for a wider roll out. Across the UK, using hydrogen like this could save the same amount of carbon as taking 2.5 million cars off the road.
The development of a hydrogen economy in 2019 will require the property sector to provide the land and facilities to support the various initiatives and associated supply chain. We’re looking at how Protos, our strategic energy hub in the industrial heartland of Cheshire, could cluster businesses together that support the hydrogen revolution. 2019 is the year that hydrogen will be seen as critically important in the UK’s strategy to decarbonise energy, and offers the North West a huge opportunity to lead the way.