The Anonymous Widower

Developing A Rural Hydrogen Network

On my last stud farm, we had three regular fuel deliveries.

• Propane to heat the house and offices.
• Red diesel to power the tractor and farm machinery.
• Road diesel to power the horse box and a couple of diesel cars, that went on the roads.

Note.

1. Like most farms in the UK, we didn’t have mains gas.
2. The local low-life of whom you never speak their name, used to regularly steal the diesel.
3. Stealing of diesel in rural areas of the UK is a big industry.
4. The police did nothing to stop the thefts as the culprits are untouchable.
5. We had two boilers, that both ran on the propane.
6. Modern boilers can be converted from propane to use hydrogen.
7. All cars, trucks, farm vehicles and machinery on the stud farm could in the future use hydrogen.

Propane and diesel would be replaced by clean hydrogen.

Delivering The Fuel

Consider.

• Propane and diesel are currently delivered in rural areas by truck.
• Hydrogen will be delivered the same way and stored in a tank designed for hydrogen, which could be similar in appearance to current propane tanks.
• Boilers would be directly piped to the hydrogen tank.
• The technology exists to fill hydrogen-powered vehicles and equipment from hydrogen tanks.
• I believe that a thief-proof hydrogen tank would be possible.
• The hydrogen will be delivered as needed in a hydrogen-powered truck.

I believe companies like Centrica, will develop the technology so that farms and businesses could have their own hydrogen system.

Supplying The Hydrogen

Electrolysers would be needed around the country.

Some could be based on nuclear sites, where others could be powered by offshore wind.

Hydrogen Safety

Hydrogen safety has its own Wikipedia entry.

The entry starts with a description of the Hindenberg Disaster, which has a detailed Wikipedia entry of its own.

I’ve spoken to someone, who was there; Dory Previn, who later wrote a song about it.

The Hydrogen safety Wikipedia entry has this paragraph.

There are many codes and standards regarding hydrogen safety in storage, transport, and use. These range from federal regulations, ANSI/AIAA, NFPA, and ISO standards. The Canadian Hydrogen Safety Program concluded that hydrogen fueling is as safe as, or safer than, compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling,

I’ve also talked to German schoolchildren about their hydrogen trains and as you are educated about hydrogen, the fear decreases and the safety increases.

Hydrogen-Powered Lawnmowers And Garden Tractors

Everybody likes a lush, green lawn.

Surely, yours is better, if your lawnmower emits no carbon dioxide!

Electric will work, but if you have a hydrogen-powered lawnmower, that can be filled from your central heating tank, that is better.

Collateral Benefits

These would be collateral benefits.

• One set of tankers would be replaced by a single zero-carbon hydrogen tanker, thus reducing road traffic.
• I believe there would be less fuel theft.
• Rural businesses, that needed gas like blacksmiths could be supplied.
• A lot of buildings with a propane-fuelled boiler could be converted to hydrogen.

It would be a path to decarbonisation of the rural economy.

How Big Is The Off-Grid Energy Market?

A document on the House of Commons web site says this.

An estimated 4.4 million households across Great Britain were not connected to the gas grid in 2021. This was 15.1% of domestic properties.

If the average gas bill is £100/month, then that is £1200/year, which works out at £5,280,000,000.

When you add in off-grid businesses, that would need fuel and hydrogen fuel for vehicles and agricultural equipment, the market can’t be much short of £10 billion.

Conclusion

As it is a multi-billion pound marketplace. someone will develop it.

April 11, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Energy, Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | Centrica, Dory Previn, Farming, Hindenberg Disaster, Rural Hydrogen Network, Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station