Namibia Proposes Green Hydrogen Supply To EU To Replace Russian Oil And Gas
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on H2 Fuel News.
These paragraphs explain the plan.
The African country has considerable wind and sunshine resources available, providing the opportunity to use renewable energy for the production of H2. Namibia is located along the African South Atlantic coastline and is among the world’s driest countries. Its 3,500 hours of sunshine per year mean that solar panels will be able to absorb a tremendous amount of energy, without much unexpected downtime.
That energy will be used for producing yellow H2, a form of green (renewable) H2 made using electrolysers powered by solar electricity. The electrolyser will split seawater, another abundant resource for the country due to its position on the map. As a result, it has the potential to offer the European Union a clean fuel source that can help it to simultaneously combat the energy crisis and the climate crisis.
Note.
- Liquid hydrogen will be shipped to Europe by tanker.
- I don’t think Vlad the Mad will like the plan!
- How many other countries have the resources like Namibia to become hydrogen exporters?
This plan was proposed at the World Economic Forum at Davos.
Will Coire Glas Start A Pumped Storage Boom In Scotland?
This article on Renewables Now is entitled SSE Gets Tenders For Construction Of 1.5-GW Pumped Hydro Scheme.
This is the first paragraph.
SSE Renewables said on Wednesday it has received tenders for the main construction works for the Coire Glas hydro pumped storage project with a capacity of up to 1.5 GW in the Scottish Highlands.
It then lists, the companies who have tendered for the project.
SE Renewables said the ITT has drawn global interest. The tenderers shortlisted for mechanical and electrical plant scope are a partnership between ANDRITZ HYDRO GmbH and Voith Hydro GmbH & Co KG, and GE Hydro France. The parties shortlisted for the civil engineering scope include three consortia and STRABAG UK Ltd. The consortia are made up of Bechtel Ltd, Acciona Construccion SA and Webuild SpA; BAM Nuttall Ltd, Eiffage Genie Civil SA and Marti Tunnel AG; and Dragados SA and BeMo Tunnelling UK Ltd.
It is an impressive list.
The article says that construction is to start in 2024. Other sources say the pumped storage project will have a storage capacity of 30 GWh, which will make it the largest pumped storage plant in the UK.
This press release from SSE Renewables is entitled Tenders Submitted For The Coire Glas Pumped Storage Scheme.
The press release contains this quote from the Project Director for Coire Glas; Ian Innes.
Receiving the tenders on schedule from the six short-listed tenderers is another significant milestone for the Coire Glas project and we are grateful for their continued interest in the project.
We are encouraged by the content of the tenders which now provides the Coire Glas project team with several options on how construction of the project could be undertaken. It is going to take some time to carefully consider and scrutinise the tenders thoroughly and we look forward to working with the tenderers as we endeavour to make our selection decision.
It appears that not only were the tenders received from quality companies, but that they contained options and ideas that could improve the project.
Coire Glas would appear to me to be a project, that is attracting the best companies and they could be putting their best workers on the project.
These are my thoughts.
The Potential For Pumped Storage Schemes In Scotland
There are at least six schemes under development or proposed in Scotland.
- Balliemeanoch – 45 GWh
- Coire Glas – 30 GWh
- Corrievarkie – 14.5 GWh
- Loch Earba – 33 GWh
- Loch Sloy – 14 GWh
- Red John – 2.8 GWh
This page on the Strathclyde University web site, gives these figures for the possible amounts of pumped-storage that can be added to existing hydro schemes.
- Errochty – 16
- Glasgarnock – 23
- Luichart – 38
- Clunie – 40
- Fannich – 70
- Rannoch – 41
- Fasnakyle – 78
- Tummel – 38
- Ben Lawers – 12
- Nant – 48
- Invermoriston – 22
- Invergarry – 41
- Quoich – 27
- Sloy – 20
That is a total of 547 GWh or 653.3 GWh if you include the new storage, I listed above.
Scotland would appear to be land overflowing with large pumped storage possibilities and could provide the modern equivalent of milk and honey.
The Potential For Offshore Wind Power Schemes In Scotland
This is the first two paragraphs of this press release on the Crown Estate Scotland web site.
Crown Estate Scotland has today announced the outcome of its application process for ScotWind Leasing, the first Scottish offshore wind leasing round in over a decade and the first ever since the management of offshore wind rights were devolved to Scotland.
The results coming just months after Glasgow hosted the global COP26 climate conference show the huge opportunity that Scotland has to transform its energy market and move towards a net zero economy.
Some highlights are then listed.
- 17 projects have been selected out of a total of 74 applications.
- A total of just under £700m will be paid by the successful applicants in option fees and passed to the Scottish Government for public spending.
- The area of seabed covered by the 17 projects is just over 7,000km2.
- Initial indications suggest a multi-billion pound supply chain investment in Scotland
- The potential power generated will move Scotland towards net-zero.
This map shows the location of each wind farm.
Note, that the numbers are Scotwind’s lease number in their documents.
Fixed Foundation Wind Farms
These are the six fixed foundation wind farms.
- 1 – BP Alternative Energy Investments – 859 km² – 2.9 GW
- 6 – DEME – 187 km² – 1.0 GW
- 9 – Ocean Winds – 429 km² – 1.0 GW
- 13 – Offshore Wind Power – 657 km² – 2.0 GW
- 16 – Northland Power – 161 km² – 0.8 GW
- 17 – Scottish Power Renewables – 754 km² – 2.0 GW
Adding up these fixed foundation wind farms gives a capacity of 9.7 GW in 3042 km² or about 3.2 MW per km².
Floating Wind Farms
These are the ten floating wind farms.
- 2- SSE Renewables – 859 km² – 2.6 GW
- 3 – Falck Renewables Wind – 280 km² – 1.2 GW
- 4 – Shell – 860 km² – 2.0 GW
- 5 – Vattenfall – 200 km² – 0.8 GW
- 7 – DEME Concessions Wind – 200 km² – 1.0 GW
- 8 – Falck Renewables Wind – 256 km² – 1.0 GW
- 10 – Falck Renewables Wind – 134 km² – 0.5 GW
- 11 – Scottish Power Renewables – 684 km² – 3.0 GW
- 12 – BayWa r.e. UK – 330 km² – 1.0 GW
- 14 – Northland Power – 390 km² – 1.5 GW
Adding up the floating wind farms gives a capacity of 14.6 GW in 4193 km² or about 3.5 MW per km².
Mixed Wind Farms
This is the single wind farm, that has mixed foundations.
15 – Magnora – 103 km² – 0.5 GW
This wind farm appears to be using floating wind turbines.
These wind farms total up to 24.8 GW
I would expect that this is only a phase in the development of Scottish wind power, which will grow substantially over the next decade.
As I write this the UK is generating a total of 26.2 GW of electricity.
Backing Up The Wind Power
This wind power, which could grow up to well over 50 GW in Scotland alone.
But what do you do, when there is no wind?
Energy will need to come from batteries, which in Scotland’s case could be over 500 GWh of pumped storage.
Europe’s Powerhouse
It is not an unreasonable prediction, that we will continue to expand our wind farms to supply Europe with thousands of GWh of electricity and/or millions of tonnes of green hydrogen.
Conclusion
It is likely that we’ll see an upward increase of wind power in Scotland closely matched by a similar increase in pumped storage.
It is no wonder that the world’s largest and most experienced contractors were so keen to get the first big contract in Scotland’s new pumped storage boom.
They know a good thing, when they see it and after their experience with the Scotland’s oil boom in the last century, I doubt they are delaying their return.
Fortescue Future Industries Enters Ethiopia to Produce Green Energy
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on 2Merkato, which describes itself as Ethiopia’s biggest business portal.
This is the first paragraph.
Ethiopia grants license to Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) for the production of green hydrogen and ammonia. Ahmed Shide, Minister of Finance, noted that the company would increase Ethiopia’s access to green energy.
FFI seems to buying hydrogen from everywhere.
Shell’s Jackdaw Gas Field Given Go-Ahead By Regulators
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Development of a major North Sea gas field has been approved by regulators.
The Jackdaw field, east of Aberdeen, has the potential to produce 6.5% of Britain’s gas output.
This is Greenpeace’s response
But environmental campaigners have condemned the move.
The activist group Greenpeace said it believed the approval could be unlawful and it was considering legal action.
“Approving Jackdaw is a desperate and destructive decision from Johnson’s government, and proves there is no long-term plan,” said Ami McCarthy, a political campaigner for Greenpeace.
I have my thoughts.
The Short Term Problem
We are all paying the high gas price, brought about by Vlad the Mad’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
On the other hand, I am all for cutting carbon emissions, but stopping the development of the Jackdaw gas field will do nothing to cut total emissions in the short term.
In my view, the only way to cut carbon emissions is to replace the use of natural gas with hydrogen or electricity produced by renewable sources like solar, tidal, wave or wind power.
This change to every heating system and important industries like cement, chemicals, glass and steelmaking to hydrogen and renewable energy is not a short term or low-cost project. Especially whilst we’re still recovering from the pandemic and trying to handle Vlad the Mad.
We will need a supply of natural gas for a few years and if we don’t have enough gas will Greenpeace and their ilk, be happy to see everybody freezing and a large increase in unemployment?
The Government is between a rock and a hard place, where they can either bow to Greenpeace or buy Putin’s bloodstained gas, where there are two alternatives.
- Buy liquified natural gas (LNG) from countries like Australia, Canada, Qatar or the United States.
- Develop our own proven resources.
The advantages of taking the second route include.
- Some of the countries from where gas is available, have bizarre views on human rights and keeping their people safe.
- Gas is transported over long distances in a liquid form. Liquifying natural gas uses a lot of energy. Is that energy renewable?
- Countries from where gas is available are thousands of miles away. How much carbon dioxide will be emitted liquifying and transporting it?
- Gas from our own resources is delivered by pipeline.
- Development of gas fields like Jackdaw, will surely create employment in the UK.
At a first look, I feel that developing Jackdaw and other similar fields, may well be a sensible option to help us through these difficult times.
Exporting Gas To Europe
If you look at the geographical position, you would feel, that the gas will be landed at St. Fergus gas terminal, which is to the North of Aberdeen.
But no! The gas will be landed at Bacton in Norfolk through the SEAL pipeline, which is 475 km. long
Could this be because Shell want to make sure the South of England gets its gas?
Possibly, but much of the UK’s gas imports arrive at LNG terminals in the South.
But Bacton has other assets, in that it has two undersea gas pipelines to the Continent. One is to Belgium and the other is to the Netherlands.
Surely, if we export our gas to other countries, then it is their business what they do with the carbon dioxide.
Not our’s or Shell’s!
Perhaps, we should develop other proven gas fields, as they will create employment in the UK and valuable exports. It will also help our friends out in Europe, in their time of need!
Will Shell Play The Market?
I have just been informed, that recently, improvements have been made to the pipelines in the area and Jackdaw’s gas could now go to St. Fergus.
This surely would give the gas from Jackdaw three destinations.
- Scotland via St. Fergus.
- England via Bacton
- Europe via Bacton and the undersea pipelines.
So will Shell play the markets?
If in the future, we start to produce massive amounts of green hydrogen, I’m sure Europe, will be happy to buy that instead.
Powering Platforms With Renewable Energy
The BBC article says this.
And it plans also to re-power its offshore platforms with renewable electricity rather than burning gas.
Looking at the map, Jackdaw will not be far from the 2 GW wind farm, that Shell are developing.
Will they build a short interconnector from this wind farm to the gas platforms of Jackdaw and other nearby fields?
Will Shell Produce Hydrogen Offshore?
This article on Gas Processing And LNG is entitled Construction Of World’s Largest PEM Electrolyzer Completed.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Air Liquide has completed the construction of the world’s largest PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) electrolyzer. Supplied with renewable energy, this unit is now producing up to 8.2 tons per day of low-carbon hydrogen in Bécancour, Québec. With this large-scale investment, the Group confirms its long-term commitment to the hydrogen energy markets and its ambition to be a major player in the supply of low-carbon hydrogen.
The new 20 MW PEM electrolyser, equipped with Cummins technology, is the largest operating unit of its kind in the world and will help meet the growing demand for low-carbon hydrogen in North America. Bécancour’s proximity to the main industrial markets in Canada and the United States will help ensure their supply of low-carbon hydrogen for industrial use and mobility. The commissioning of this electrolysis unit increases by 50% the capacity of Air Liquide’s Bécancour hydrogen production complex.
Note.
- This article is about a year old and electrolysers will get larger.
- 20 MW of electricity will produce 8.2 tons per day of low carbon or green hydrogen.
- It may surprise some, that the electrolyser has been built by Cummins, who are diesel engine manufacturers. They are a company, who appear to have seen the way the wind is blowing and are making sure they lead the revolution.
How much hydrogen could a 2 GW wind farm produce?
- Wind farms have a capacity factor, which is how much energy they actually produce compared to their rating.
- Shell’s 2 GW wind farm will be a floating wind farm and these typically have a capacity factor of at least 50 percent.
- I will assume the capacity factor of 50 percent.
This will give 8,200 tonnes per day of green hydrogen. This is nearly three million tons per year.
How Will The Hydrogen Be Brought Ashore?
The HyDeploy project is investigating blending of hydrogen into our natural gas grid.
- It appears that up to 25 % of hydrogen can be added without the need to change boilers and appliances.
- This blending of hydrogen into our natural gas supply, would cut our carbon emissions by a worthwhile amount.
So will we see gas piped to nearby gas platforms like Jackdaw for blending with fresh virgin natural gas?
This would have the following advantages for Shell.
- They wouldn’t need to install an electric cable to the shore with all its associated onshore and offshore substations.
- The hydrogen could be brought ashore at either Bacton or St. Fergus gas terminals.
- Shell could invite other local wind farms to share their electrolyser.
- Shell would need to new onshore installations.
If Shell get this right, they could cut the project cost.
Will Shell Produce Blue Hydrogen Offshore?
I wonder if Shell have a cunning plan.
- It is known, that Shell have developed a catalyst-based blue hydrogen process, which splits natural gas into hydrogen and carbon dioxide, with the addition of oxygen from the air.
- I suspect the process could need a lot of energy to work. But at least a GW from the nearby wind farm will probably be a good start.
- Could that carbon dioxide be captured and stored in a depleted gas field.
- The hydrogen could be piped to either Bacton or St. Fergus, as I previously described.
This hybrid method might be a more economic way to produce zero-carbon hydrogen.
Conclusion
I wouldn’t be surprised if Shell will produce hydrogen offshore.
Offshore Wind Champion Appointed As £160m Floating Offshore Wind Fund Opens For Expressions Of Interest
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Kwasi Kwarteng.
These three paragraphs describe the policy.
Ambitious plans to expand offshore wind around the United Kingdom to power homes and businesses with cheap, homegrown energy received a further boost today with the appointment of a new government champion and a multimillion-pound manufacturing fund opening for expressions of interest.
The appointment of Tim Pick as the first UK Offshore Wind Champion was confirmed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng today.
The Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme (FLOWMIS) will provide £160 million in government funding to boost floating offshore wind capability around the UK at sites in Scotland, Wales and elsewhere by supporting manufacturers and giving private investors the confidence to back this emerging sector which is expected to rapidly expand in the years ahead.
Floating offshore wind needs the following components.
- Wind turbines, which are the same as those used onshore.
- Floats, which are generally made from steel, but concrete can also be used. There are a few proven designs, like the Windfloat from Principle Power.
- Mooring systems for the turbines.
- Electrical substations and cables.
There is also a need for deep water docks, with large cranes to assemble the systems, prior to towing the turbines into position.
Floating offshore wind is a new industry and there will be new ideas coming through from innovators.
I feel that the strategy could help bring new ideas through.
Welsh Firm Wins £300K BEIS Grant To Advance Hydrogen Fuel Tech
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Wales247.
This is the first two paragraphs.
A gasification pioneer aims to seal the UK’s low-carbon future after winning a Government grant worth nearly £300,000 to develop waste-to-hydrogen production technology, innovation funding specialist Catax can reveal.
Compact Syngas Solutions (CSS), based in Deeside, Wales, has secured £299,886 from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) with the help of Catax. The funding comes from the Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 Programme, which is part of the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio.
Note.
- The objective is produce syngas or green hydrogen from waste that would normally be sent to landfill.
- Syngas, or synthesis gas, is a fuel gas mixture consisting primarily of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and very often some carbon dioxide.
- Syngas can be used as a fuel in internal combustion engines.
The name of the company; Compact Syngas Solutions could indicate that the company aim to have a compact system to produce syngas or green hydrogen.
I have come across other companies looking at waste diverted from landfill to create aviation fuel, diesel or hydrogen.
I have invested in one; Velocys, through the Stock Market, as I feel this area of technology will be big in the future.
Compact Syngas Solutions seem to have a different take. However like many other, I suspect catalysts are involved.
Conclusion
I think, this will be a company to watch.
The Massive Hydrogen Project, That Appears To Be Under The Radar
This page on the SSE Thermal web site, is entitled Aldbrough Gas Storage.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The Aldbrough Gas Storage facility, in East Yorkshire, officially opened in June 2011. The last of the nine caverns entered commercial operation in November 2012.
This page on Hydrocarbons Technology is entitled Aldbrough Underground Gas Storage Facility, Yorkshire.
It gives these details of how Aldbrough Gas Storage was constructed.
The facility was originally planned to be developed by British Gas and Intergen in 1997. British Gas planned to develop Aldbrough North as a gas storage facility while Intergen planned to develop Aldbrough South.
SSE and Statoil became owners of the two projects in 2002 and 2003. The two companies combined the projects in late 2003. Site work commenced in March 2004 and leaching of the first cavern started in March 2005.
The storage caverns were created by using directional drilling. From a central area of the site, boreholes were drilled down to the salt strata located 2km underground.
After completion of drilling, leaching was carried out by pumping seawater into the boreholes to dissolve salt and create a cavern. Natural gas was then pumped into the caverns and stored under high pressure.
Six of the nine caverns are already storing gas. As of February 2012, dewatering and preparation of the remaining three caverns is complete. Testing has been completed at two of these caverns.
The facility is operated remotely from SSE’s Hornsea storage facility. It includes an above ground gas processing plant equipped with three 20MW compressors. The gas caverns of the facility are connected to the UK’s gas transmission network through an 8km pipeline.
Note.
- The caverns are created in a bed of salt about two kilometres down.
- It consists of nine caverns with the capacity to store around 370 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas.
- Salt caverns are very strong and dry, and are ideal for storing natural gas. The technique is discussed in this section in Wikipedia.
As I worked for ICI at Runcorn in the late 1960s, I’m very familiar with the technique, as the company extracted large amounts of salt from the massive reserves below the Cheshire countryside.
This Google Map shows the location of the Aldbrough Gas Storage to the North-East of Hull.
Note.
- The red-arrow marks the site of the Aldbrough Gas Storage.
- It is marked on the map as SSE Hornsea Ltd.
- Hull is in the South-West corner of the map.
This Google Map shows the site in more detail.
It appears to be a compact site.
Atwick Gas Storage
This page on the SSE Thermal web site, is entitled Atwick Gas Storage.
This is said on the web site.
Our Atwick Gas Storage facility is located near Hornsea on the East Yorkshire coast.
It consists of nine caverns with the capacity to store around 325 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas.
The facility first entered commercial operation in 1979. It was purchased by SSE in September 2002.
This Google Map shows the location of the Atwick Gas Storage to the North-East of Beverley.
Note.
- The red-arrow marks the site of the Atwick Gas Storage.
- It is marked on the map as SSE Atwick.
- Beverley is in the South-West corner of the map.
This Google Map shows the site in more detail.
As with the slightly larger Aldbrough Gas Storage site, it appears to be compact.
Conversion To Hydrogen Storage
It appears that SSE and Equinor have big plans for the Aldbrough Gas Storage facility.
This page on the SSE Thermal web site is entitled Plans For World-Leading Hydrogen Storage Facility At Aldbrough.
These paragraphs introduce the plans.
SSE Thermal and Equinor are developing plans for one of the world’s largest hydrogen storage facilities at their existing Aldbrough site on the East Yorkshire coast. The facility could be storing low-carbon hydrogen as early as 2028.
The existing Aldbrough Gas Storage facility, which was commissioned in 2011, is co-owned by SSE Thermal and Equinor, and consists of nine underground salt caverns, each roughly the size of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Upgrading the site to store hydrogen would involve converting the existing caverns or creating new purpose-built caverns to store the low-carbon fuel.
With an initial expected capacity of at least 320GWh, Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage would be significantly larger than any hydrogen storage facility in operation in the world today. The Aldbrough site is ideally located to store the low-carbon hydrogen set to be produced and used in the Humber region.
Hydrogen storage will be vital in creating a large-scale hydrogen economy in the UK and balancing the overall energy system by providing back up where large proportions of energy are produced from renewable power. As increasing amounts of hydrogen are produced both from offshore wind power, known as ‘green hydrogen’, and from natural gas with carbon capture and storage, known as ‘blue hydrogen’, facilities such as Aldbrough will provide storage for low-carbon energy.
I have a few thoughts.
Will Both Aldbrough and Atwick Gas Storage Facilities Be Used?
As the page only talks of nine caverns and both Aldbrough and Atwick facilities each have nine caverns, I suspect that at least initially only Aldbrough will be used.
But in the future, demand for the facility could mean all caverns were used and new ones might even be created.
Where Will The Hydrogen Come From?
These paragraphs from the SSE Thermal web page give an outline.
Equinor has announced its intention to develop 1.8GW of ‘blue hydrogen’ production in the region starting with its 0.6GW H2H Saltend project which will supply low-carbon hydrogen to local industry and power from the mid-2020s. This will be followed by a 1.2GW production facility to supply the Keadby Hydrogen Power Station, proposed by SSE Thermal and Equinor as the world’s first 100% hydrogen-fired power station, before the end of the decade.
SSE Thermal and Equinor’s partnership in the Humber marks the UK’s first end-to-end hydrogen proposal, connecting production, storage and demand projects in the region. While the Aldbrough facility would initially store the hydrogen produced for the Keadby Hydrogen Power Station, the benefit of this large-scale hydrogen storage extends well beyond power generation. The facility would enable growing hydrogen ambitions across the region, unlocking the potential for green hydrogen, and supplying an expanding offtaker market including heat, industry and transport from the late 2020s onwards.
Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage, and the partners’ other hydrogen projects in the region, are in the development stage and final investment decisions will depend on the progress of the necessary business models and associated infrastructure.
The Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage project is the latest being developed in a long-standing partnership between SSE Thermal and Equinor in the UK, which includes the joint venture to build the Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm, the largest offshore wind farm in the world.
It does seem to be, a bit of an inefficient route to create blue hydrogen, which will require carbon dioxide to be captured and stored or used.
Various scenarios suggest themselves.
- The East Riding of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are agricultural counties, so could some carbon dioxide be going to help greenhouse plants and crops, grow big and strong.
- Carbon dioxide is used as a major ingredient of meat substitutes like Quorn.
- Companies like Mineral Carbonation International are using carbon dioxide to make building products like blocks and plasterboard.
I do suspect that there are teams of scientists in the civilised world researching wacky ideas for the use of carbon dioxide.
Where Does The Dogger Bank Wind Farm Fit?
The Dogger Bank wind farm will be the largest offshore wind farm in the world.
- It will consist of at least three phases; A, B and C, each of which will be 1.2 GW.
- Phase A and B will have a cable to Creyke Beck substation in Yorkshire.
- Phase C will have a cable to Teesside.
Creyke Beck is almost within walking distance of SSE Hornsea.
Could a large electrolyser be placed in the area, to store wind-power from Dogger Bank A/B as hydrogen in the Hydrogen Storage Facility At Aldbrough?
Conclusion
SSE and Equinor may have a very cunning plan and we will know more in the next few years.
Salt Deposits And Gas Cavern Storage In The UK
This post is mainly to point to this useful document on the government web site, that is entitled Salt Deposits And Gas Cavern Storage In The UK With A Case Study Of Salt Exploration From Cheshire.
UK Energy Exports To Europe At Record High
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Britain has exported record amounts of gas to Europe so far this year as its liquefied natural gas terminals receive shipments destined for the Continent.
Electricity exports also have surged to unprecedented highs in recent weeks after an unexpected glut of gas pushed down short-term gas prices and resulted in gas-fired power plants generating more for export.
Who’d have thought it, that all those gas pipelines and electricity interconnectors between the UK and the Continent of Europe would be part of the replacementliqui for Russian gas.
According to Wikipedia, we have three liquified natural gas terminals; two at Milford Haven; South Hook and Dragon, and Grain on the Isle of Grain.
Note.
- South Hook is Europe’s largest liquified natural gas terminal and is owned by a partnership of the Qataris, ExxonMobil and Elf.
- South Hook and Dragon together can provide 25 % of the UK’s natural gas needs.
- Grain is owned by National Grid and according to Wikipedia, is in terms of storage capacity it is the largest LNG facility in Europe and the eighth largest in the world.
- Grain can supply 20 % of the UK’s natural gas needs.
- Grain has a reloading facility, so that gas can be exported.
- Grain seems to be continually expanding.
- Both Milford Haven and the Isle of Grain have large gas-fired power-stations.
Politicians say we don’t have enough gas storage, but we do seem to have world-class LNG terminals.
I have a couple of extra thoughts.
Blending Natural Gas With Hydrogen
HyDeploy is a project investigated blending hydrogen natural gas to cut carbon emissions. The project is described in this post called HyDeploy.
Surely, these terminals could be places, where hydrogen is blended with our natural gas supply.
- The terminals are connected to the UK gas network.
- Both Milford Haven and the Isle of Grain should have access to large amounts of offshore wind energy in the next few years, which could be used to generate green hydrogen.
- The terminals would need electrolysers to generate the hydrogen.
The Isle of Grain already has a blending capability.
NeuConnect
NeuConnect is an under-development interconnector between the Isle of Grain in Kent and Wilhelmshaven in Germany.
- It will have a capacity 1.4 GW.
- All the planning permissions seem to be in place.
- Prysmian have won a € 1.2 million contract to deliver the interconnector.
- Arup and German engineering firm Fichtner have formed a joint venture to provide project services for the interconnector.
- Construction could start this year.
It looks like the Germans will be replacing some of Putin’s bloodstained gas with clean zero-carbon energy from the UK.
Should We Develop More Gas Fields?
There are some gas fields in the seas around the UK, like Jackdaw, that could be developed.
Suppose, we extracted the gas and sent it to the reloading terminal on the Isle of Grain through the gas transmission network, where it could be exported by ship, to the Continent.
The UK would not be increasing its carbon emissions, as that would surely be the responsibility of the end-user.
Should We Develop More Gas Fired Power-Stations?
I believe it is possible to develop carbon-capture technology for gas-fired power stations.
The carbon dioxide would be either used in a beneficial way or stored in perhaps a worked-out gas field under the North Sea.
So long as no carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, I don’t see why more gas-fired power stations shouldn’t be developed.
What is happening at Keadby near Scunthorpe would appear to be one model for zero-carbon power generation.
Keadby Power Station
This is an existing
Conclusion
We will be exporting more energy to the Continent.
Affordable Blue Hydrogen Production
The title of this post, is the same as that of this page on the Shell Catalysts & Technologies web site.
This is said at the top of the page.
Natural gas producers are at a crossroads. They face a shifting regulatory landscape emphasising emissions reduction and an economic environment where cash preservation is critical. Shell Catalysts & Technologies offers resource holders a phased approach to diversifying their portfolios towards clean hydrogen fuels by leveraging proven and affordable capture technologies and catalysts.
My knowledge of advanced chemical catalysts is small, but I did work in the early 1970s on a project with one of ICI’s experts in the field and he told me some basics and how he believed that in the future some new catalysts would revolutionise chemical process engineering.
Wikipedia’s definition of catalysis, or the action of catalysts is as follows.
Catalysis is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst.
When I heard that Velocys were going to develop a catalyst-based system to turn household waste into sustainable aviation fuel, I did make a small investment in the company, as I thought the project could have legs.
Shell’s process takes natural gas and converts one molecule of methane (CH4) into two molecules of hydrogen (H2) and one of carbon dioxide (CO2) using one molecule of oxygen (O2) from the air.
In the Shell Blue Hydrogen Process, does a clever catalyst extract the carbon atom from the methane and combine it with two oxygen atoms to create a molecule of carbon dioxide? If it does, then this would leave the four atoms of hydrogen to form two molecules of H2 and the catalyst to go and repeat its magic on another methane molecule.
The video on the Shell site claims to do the conversion 10-25 % cheaper than current carbon intensive methods like steam reforming.
For every two molecules of hydrogen produced, both the Shell Blue Hydrogen Process and steam reforming will produce one molecule of carbon dioxide.
If you look at steam reforming it is an endothermic process, which means heat has to be added. The classic endothermic process is dissolving ice cubes in a glass of water.
Shell don’t say, but does their process need less energy to be added, because their clever catalyst does a lot of the work?
I wouldn’t be surprised if the reaction takes place in a liquid, with hydrogen and carbon dioxide bubbling out.
- The two gases would be separated by using their different physical properties.
- Carbon dioxide is heavier for a start.
Whatever Shell have done, it is probably pretty impressive and has probably taken many years to develop.
If as I suspect, it produces pure carbon dioxide, that would be an added bonus, as some uses of carbon dioxide wouldn’t want impurities.
Uses of pure carbon dioxide include.
- Feeding it to soft fruits, flowers, salad vegetables and tomatoes growing in large greenhouses.
- Dry ice.
- Mineral Carbonation International can use carbon dioxide to make building products like blocks or plasterboard.
- It can be added to concrete.
The more of the carbon dioxide that can be used rather than stored the better.
The Anonymous Widower 