The Anonymous Widower

Spirit Energy Welcomes Licence Award For World-Leading Carbon Storage Facility

The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Centrica.

This is the sub-heading.

Spirit Energy and its shareholders, Centrica Plc and Stadtwerke München GmbH (SWM), welcome licence award for world-leading carbon storage facility

These are the first two paragraphs.

Spirit Energy – with the support of majority shareholder Centrica Plc, and Stadtwerke München GmbH (SWM) – has today (18 May) been granted a carbon storage licence by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA). This represents a further step towards their net zero vision of repurposing the North and South Morecambe gas fields for carbon capture and storage.

Today’s announcement places the companies at the forefront of the decarbonisation efforts in the UK, with the MNZ (Morecambe Net Zero) Cluster having the potential to be one of the UK’s biggest carbon storage hubs. It will be able to store up to a gigaton of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of three years’ worth of current UK CO₂ emissions. It could initially store above 5MTPA of CO₂, scaling in time to 25MTPA. The MNZ Cluster will be able to accept CO₂ transported by pipeline, ship and rail.

Note.

  1. I would assume MTPA is megaton per annum.
  2. In the long-term, I believe we’ll find productive uses for a substantial amount of the CO₂ we create, in agriculture, manufacturing construction materials, animal foods and textiles  and in other uses.
  3. The MNZ Cluster is very large and will be a superb partner for Carbon Capture and Use.
  4. The partners will invest over £1 billion in this project pending the outcome of the Track 2 process.

Neil McCulloch, CEO of Spirit Energy, finished the news item like this.

Spirit Energy has ambitions for the two gas fields to form the core of a green super-hub. This would explore opportunities like direct air capture, the manufacture of blue hydrogen, the production of green hydrogen, the integration of other renewable power generation facilities, and energy storage – all of which would put Barrow and the North West on the map as a centre for low-carbon innovation.

It is a good vision.

May 19, 2023 Posted by | Energy | , , , , | Leave a comment

Businesses Back Hydrogen Trials To Accelerate Net Zero Ambitions

The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item on Centrica.

These are the three main findings of a business survey, to ascertain attitudes to hydrogen.

  • Three quarters (77%) of businesses back hydrogen as part of their energy improvement strategy with a quarter (27%) intending to trial or implement it in the next two years.
  • Almost one in ten (8%) respondents say they have already installed hydrogen-ready combined heat and power (CHP) units.
  • A third (33%) of firms say energy costs are motivating them to adopt hydrogen.

This paragraph details who were surveyed.

We surveyed 500 executives in December 2022 and January 2023 across food and beverage manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality and travel, pharmaceutical manufacturing, heavy industry, horticulture and light industry. 24% of respondents were from the UK, 16% Ireland, 20% Netherlands, 20% Italy, 20% Hungary.

It certainly looks to be a well-constructed survey, with a wide range of respondents.

I have some thoughts.

Centrica And Combined Heat And Power

I was initially surprised that eight percent of respondents had already installed hydrogen-ready combined heat and power units.

But according to Centrica Announces Hydrogen Ready Combined Heat And Power Partnership With 2G, Centrica are preparing themselves for selling systems in this area.

Businesses Are Certainly Looking At Hydrogen

A figure of 77 % of businesses are looking at hydrogen and 27 % are investing in hydrogen.

But I don’t think the average man on the Clapham Omnibus would be so enthusiastic.

Costs Are Motivating Firms To Adopt Hydrogen

I would be surprised if costs didn’t have an effect.

But if costs are driving them towards hydrogen, then hydrogen must be more affordable.

Which is one in eye for hydrogen deniers, who always tell me it is more expensive.

Are Centrica Working To Drop Their Costs?

These posts would suggest they are.

They are doing deals with start-ups and repurposing old plants and pipelines.

Conclusion

Centrica seem to be leading the charge to hydrogen in the UK.

April 19, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Hydrogen | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Centrica Plan Green Energy Hub At Former Gas Power Plant

The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Centrica.

These three paragraphs outline the project.

A former gas fired power plant in North Yorkshire is to be turned in to a green energy hub under ambitious plans by Centrica.

The energy company has acquired the four-acre former Knapton Generating Station from Third Energy and plans to develop a 28MW battery on the site.

In addition, Centrica is exploring how Knapton could be used for off-grid hydrogen production, as well as the possibility for solar energy in the surrounding area.

Over the last few months, I’ve written about other small projects from Centrica.

The company has also announced links with other companies.

Note, that the first concerns generators and the others concern hydrogen.

The Centrica news item about the Knapton generating station has this fourth paragraph.

The multi-million pound deal is part of Centrica Business Solutions strategic plan to create a 900MW portfolio of solar and battery assets by 2026.

It seems obvious to me that the Brigg, Knapton and Redditch projects fit this Centrica Business Solutions strategic plan, with sizes as follows.

  • Brigg – 49 MW
  • Knapton – 41.5 MW
  • Redditch – 20 MW

I would expect to see Centrica behind several more of these smaller energy projects.

For that reason I have tagged all articles dealing with these projects as Centrica Small Energy Projects.

These are my thoughts about the Knapton generating station.

Third Energy

Third energy’s web site defines Third Energy as an unusual fossil energy company.

  • The History page says that Knapton Generating Station was producing electricity using gas from the Vale of Pickering for over 25 years.
  • The Net Zero Rise page describes their involvement in the Net Zero RISE consortium with Durham, Leicester and Oxford Universities.
  • The Plug & Abandon and Geothermal pages are very much worth a read.

According to the Centrica news item, Third Energy will retain the ownership of the 12 well-sites and associated gas pipeline network.

I shall be watching this company and their developing relationship with Centrica.

The Net Zero RISE Consortium

The Net Zero RISE Consortium has a home page on the Newcastle University web site.

The page has this sub-heading.

Research Infrastructure for Subsurface Energy: an academic-industry partnership to deliver the UK’s first deep test sites.

This is said under a heading of Our Ambition.

This is the most cost-effective way of developing the UK’s first deep test site onshore.

Repurposing wells leverages previous capital investment. Using an onshore site with existing wells and geophysical data:

  • eliminates the major cost of drilling and engineering
  • reduces uncertainty by drawing on knowledge of the well and surrounding geological conditions
  • is safer and easier access than offshore locations

We propose developing three test sites: CO2 storage; H2 storage and geothermal.

This seems to be a very sensible research collaboration and I wouldn’t be surprised to see more companies and universities join.

The Battery

The Centrica news item says this about the battery.

The first project at the site near Malton will be a 56MWh battery which will utilise some of the 41.5MW export capability of the existing grid connection. It’s anticipated the battery would be able to power around 14,000 homes for two hours.

This paragraph would indicate that the battery is supplying just 2 kWh per hour.

A common figure on the Internet is that the average house uses 8 kWh per day, which is 0.33 kWh per hour.

I have a feeling that the figures need correcting somewhere.

Solar Power

The third paragraph of the Centrica news item mentions solar energy.

In addition, Centrica is exploring how Knapton could be used for off-grid hydrogen production, as well as the possibility for solar energy in the surrounding area.

This Google Map shows the site.

It appears to be several hundred metres to the nearest house.

I have read a very simple rule, that says a hectare, which is about the size of a full-size football pitch can accommodate a MW of panels. Obviously Centrica will have accurate calculations.

Off-Grid Hydrogen Production

The third paragraph of the Centrica news item mentions off-grid hydrogen production.

In addition, Centrica is exploring how Knapton could be used for off-grid hydrogen production, as well as the possibility for solar energy in the surrounding area.

Consider these points about the Knapton site.

  • It has been handling gas for at least twenty-five years.
  • It is connected to the electricity and gas grids.
  • It has connections to a dozen gas wells.
  • There would be space for a smaller electrolyser.
  • Hydrogen could be exported from the site, by blending into the natural gas grid.

If Third Energy and the Net Zero RISE Consortium develop Knapton as a site for their H2 Storage test well, Centrica and an off-grid hydrogen production facility would be ideal partners.

Centrica could even use the site to try out new ideas.

This appears to be one of those engineering projects, that has been thought through whilst drinking several pints of real ale in a welcoming hostelry nearby.

Geothermal Engineering

This site could be used for experiments with geothermal engineering, but there doesn’t seem many places nearby, that would need a good supply of hot water.

Conclusion

There’s more to this deal, than meets the eye.

April 7, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage, Hydrogen | , , , , , | 1 Comment

Centrica Business Solutions Begins Work On 20MW Hydrogen-Ready Peaker In Redditch

The title of this post, is the same as that as this news item from Centrica Business Systems.

This is the sub-heading.

Centrica Business Solutions has started work on a 20MW hydrogen-ready gas-fired peaking plant in Worcestershire, as it continues to expand its portfolio of energy assets.

These three paragraphs outline the project.

Centrica has purchased a previously decommissioned power plant in Redditch, and is set to install eight UK assembled containerised engines to burn natural gas.

Expected to be fully operational later this year, the peaking power plant will run only when there is high or peak demand for electricity, or when generation from renewables is low. The Redditch project will have the capacity to power the equivalent of 2,000 homes for a full day when required, helping to maintain stability and reliability on the grid.

The engines will also be capable of burning a blend of natural gas and hydrogen, futureproofing the site and helping the UK transition towards a decarbonised energy system.

  • The original power station had Rolls-Royce generators.
  • Cummins and Rolls-Royce mtu and possibly other companies can probably supply the dual fuel generators.
  • Cummins have received UK Government funding to develop hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines.
  • This press release from Cummins, which is entitled Dawn Of A New Chapter From Darlington, gives more details on Cummins’ plans for the Darlington factory and hydrogen.

Given that Cummins manufactured sixty-six thousand engines in Darlington in 2021 and it is stated that these containerised engines will be assembled in the UK, I feel, that these engines may be from Cummins.

Centrica’s Plans

This paragraph in the Centrica Business Systems news item, outlines their plans.

The Redditch peaking plant is part of Centrica’s plans to deliver around 1GW of flexible energy assets, that includes the redevelopment of several legacy-owned power stations, including the transformation of the former Brigg Power Station in Lincolnshire into a battery storage asset and the first plant in the UK to be part fuelled by hydrogen.

As Redditch power station is only 20 MW, Centrica could be thinking of around fifty assets of a similar size.

Brigg Power Station

The Wikipedia entry for Brigg Power station gives these details of the station.

  • The station was built in 1993.
  • It is a combined cycle gas turbine power station.
  • The primary fuel is natural gas, but it can also run on diesel.
  • It has a nameplate capacity of 240 MW.

Brigg power station is also to be used as a test site for hydrogen firing.

This news item from Centrica is entitled Centrica And HiiROC To Inject Hydrogen At Brigg Gas-Fired Power Station In UK First Project.

These paragraphs from the news item explains the process.

The 49MW gas fired plant at Brigg is designed to meet demand during peak times or when generation from renewables is low, typically operating for less than three hours a day. Mixing hydrogen in with natural gas reduces the overall carbon intensity.

It’s anticipated that during the trial, getting underway in Q3 2023, no more than three per cent of the gas mix could be hydrogen, increasing to 20% incrementally after the project. Longer term, the vision is to move towards 100% hydrogen and to deploy similar technology across all gas-fired peaking plant.

HiiROC’s proprietary technology converts biomethane, flare gas or natural gas into clean hydrogen and carbon black, through an innovative Thermal Plasma Electrolysis process. This results in a low carbon, or potentially negative carbon, ‘emerald hydrogen’.

Because the byproduct comes in the form of a valuable, solid, pure carbon it can be easily captured and used in applications ranging from tyres, rubbers and toners, and in new use cases like building materials and even as a soil enhancer.

It looks to me, that HiiROC are using an updated version of a process called pyrolysis, which is fully and well-described in this Wikipedia entry. This is the first paragraph.

The pyrolysis (or devolatilization) process is the thermal decomposition of materials at elevated temperatures, often in an inert atmosphere. It involves a change of chemical composition. The word is coined from the Greek-derived elements pyro “fire”, “heat”, “fever” and lysis “separating”.

Pyrolysis is more common than you think and is even used in cooking to do things like caramelise onions. This is a video of a chef giving a demonstration of caramelising onions.

On an industrial scale, pyrolysis is used to make coke and charcoal.

I came across pyrolysis in my first job after graduating, when I worked at ICI Runcorn.

ICI were trying to make acetylene in a process plant they had bought from BASF. Ethylene was burned in an atmosphere, that didn’t have much oxygen and then quenched in naphtha. This should have produced acetylene , but all it produced was tonnes of black soot, that it spread all over Runcorn.

I shared an office with a guy, who was using a purpose-built instrument to measure acetylene in the off-gas from the burners.

When he discovered that the gas could be in explosive limits, ICI shut the plant down. The Germans didn’t believe this and said, that anyway it was impossible to do the measurement.

ICI gave up on the process and demolished their plant, but sadly the German plant blew up.

It does look like HiiROC have tamed the process to be able to put hydrocarbons in one end and get hydrogen and carbon black out the other.

I wonder how many old and possibly dangerous chemical processes can be reimagined using modern technology.

It certainly appears that Centrica are not holding back on innovation.

Conclusion

I’ve never run a large electricity network. Not even a simulated one.

But I’m fairly sure that having a large number of assets of different sizes, that can be optimised to the load and the fuel available, creates a more reliable and efficient network.

Heavy energy users may even have their own small efficient power station, that is powered by gases piped from the local landfill.

April 6, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Hydrogen | , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Centrica And UK Infrastructure Bank Announce Significant Investment Into Sustainable Electricity Funds

The title of this post is the same as that of this press release from Centrica.

This is the sub-heading.

Funds set to help supercharge UK’s transition to cleaner, greener energy

These four paragraphs outline the investment.

Centrica and UK Infrastructure Bank have today announced they are investing up to £265 million in sustainable energy storage to help drive the country’s transition to a cleaner, greener and more resilient electricity network.

The proposed investment will support the development of new energy storage, following the Bank’s expression of interest to find innovative ways to fund and increase the nation’s storage capacity.

The Bank will invest £75 million on a match funding basis into the Gresham House Secure Income Renewable Energy & Storage LP (SIRES) alongside a £65 million investment from Centrica.

UK infrastructure Bank has committed to invest £125 million on a match-funding basis into Equitix UK Electricity Storage Fund.

Note.

  1. Centrica describes itself on its web site, as an energy services and solutions company.
  2. The Wikipedia entry for the UK Infrastructure Bank, says it is a British state-owned development bank.
  3. The Equitix web site has a mission statement sating it is a responsible investor, investing in, developing and managing global infrastructure assets, which materially contribute to the lives of the communities they serve.

By supporting two energy storage funds, it is to be hoped that more electricity storage is added to the UK electricity network.

This is a paragraph in the press release.

Currently National Grid forecasts show that up to 29 GW of total storage could be needed by 2030 and up to 51 GW by 2050. This is a huge increase on the 5 GW currently available and means there is a clear need to accelerate deployment of capital and investment in new storage projects.

I doubt there will be any problems deploying new energy storage.

The press release then has a paragraph on what each fund will do with the money.

Gresham House Secure Income Renewable Energy & Storage LP (SIRES)

I will pick these important points from the paragraph.

  • Centrica and the UK Investment Bank will invest on a matched funding basis.
  • Centrica will be a cornerstone investor, and this marks the first time the business has invested in such a fund.
  • Collocation of renewable generation and short duration electricity storage facilities to help maximise grid connections.
  • The seed asset will be a collocated solar and battery energy storage project in Hartlepool, County Durham, with 50 MWp solar capacity and 75 MWh of battery energy storage.
  • Centrica will seek to provide a route-to-market for the assets in the fund once they become operational.

You could almost consider this a When the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine fund.

Equitix UK Electricity Storage Fund

I will pick these important points from the paragraph.

  • The Bank will support the launch of the fund by committing to invest up to £125million on a match-funding basis.
  • The fund will focus on a combination of innovative business models across both short and long duration storage. Short duration strategies may include installation in households and at underutilised commercial premises, as well as co-location.
  • The fund will also aim to deploy a range of long duration storage technologies, such as pumped-hydro.

Does a range of technologies mean that they will support new storage technologies?

Hulam Farm, Hartlepool

This page on the Lightsource-BP web site is entitled Proposed Solar Installation At Hulam Farm.

This is the first paragraph.

The proposal involves Lightsource bp funding the development of a solar installation that will connect into the local electricity network, with an output power capacity of 49.9MW (Megawatts).

Could this be the solar part of the Hartlepool project mentioned in the press release?

  • Lightsource BP are experienced funders of solar farms.
  • Gresham House have built many batteries of the size needed.
  • I don’t think technically, there will be too many problems.

I shall watch this development with interest.

What’s In It For Centrica?

I have to ask this question.

Consider.

  • Centrica is part-owner of the 270 MW Lincs offshore wind farm, which was commissioned in September 2013.
  • Centrica is half-owner of the 194 MW Lynn and Inner Dowsing wind farm, which was commissioned in March 2009.
  • Both these wind farms have separate substations in Lincolnshire.
  • Centrica also have interests in two onshore wind farms in Scotland, that have a combined capacity of 98 MW.

I wonder how many times these wind farms have been shut down because of too much electricity?

Will Gresham House pit batteries on these sites?

 

 

 

March 31, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage, Finance & Investment | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lhyfe And Centrica To Develop Offshore Renewable Green Hydrogen In The UK

The title of his post is the same as that of this news item from Centrica.

These are the bullet points.

  • Memorandum of Understanding will pave the way for green hydrogen pilot production site at sea
  • Energy firms explore large scale partnership in drive to net zero
  • Aim for UK to become a global leader in the hydrogen sector

This is the third paragraph, that outlines the objectives of the project.

The pilot will aim to combine Lhyfe’s expertise on green hydrogen production and Centrica’s experience of gas storage and infrastructure to ensure that the hydrogen produced can be safely stored and utilised in the UK. The end result would be proof that an end-to-end hydrogen production, storage, and distribution system is possible in the country.

I have a couple of thoughts.

Offshore Production Of Hydrogen

I remember from the 1960s, when I told friends and my mother, that I worked in a hydrogen factory, some of them asked if it was dangerous.

The Hindenburg and the R 101 had a lot to answer for even forty years later.

But does that fear of hydrogen still exist? If it does, surely building hydrogen electrolysers offshore could be a way of reducing that fear?

There are also other reasons to produce hydrogen offshore.

  • The latest electrolysers will work with sea water, which means the water doesn’t need to be desalinated first.
  • The hydrogen can be brought ashore and stored using redundant gas infrastructure.
  • Using redundant gas infrastructure may be a more affordable way of bringing energy onshore.
  • A severe hydrogen leak may be much less dangerous 50 km. offshore. It will quickly disperse and rise into the atmosphere.

The accountants will probably decide.

Do Centrica Have Big Ambitions For Hydrogen?

This is said about Centrica in the news item.

  • Centrica is a leading international services and solutions company with ambitious plans across the business to reach net zero by 2045. Centrica have identified hydrogen as playing an essential part in company and UK targets to achieve net zero.
  • Centrica Storage are a 100% owned subsidiary of Centrica and own and operate the Rough gas field storage facility, located off the coast of Humberside.
  • Centrica has a long-term ambition to turn Rough into the world’s largest hydrogen storage facility in Europe.

Centrica appear to have big ambitions for hydrogen.

March 20, 2023 Posted by | Hydrogen | , , | 5 Comments

Centrica Announces Hydrogen Ready Combined Heat And Power Partnership With 2G

The title if this post is the same as that of this press release from centrica.

This is the sub-heading.

Centrica Business Solutions is partnering with 2G Energy AG to provide customers with 100% hydrogen ready Combined and Heat Power (CHP) systems.

This paragraph outlines the project.

The move is in response to the growing need for integrated hydrogen solutions which are a key tool in the decarbonisation of decentralised energy. As the hydrogen network develops, the highly efficient units can continue to run on traditional fuel sources, helping future proof investments by ensuring an extended life for the assets.

It does appear that the 2G units can run on biogas or natural gas and switch to hydrogen, when it is available.

2G Energy have a web site, with lots of case studies.

January 31, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Hydrogen | , , , , | 3 Comments

Centrica And Ryze Agree To Develop Hydrogen Pathway

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Centrica.

These are the first three paragraphs.

Centrica and Ryze Hydrogen are set to jointly build and operate hydrogen production facilities aimed at providing a reliable supply of hydrogen for industry and transportation.

Under the landmark agreement the firms will jointly develop hydrogen production projects on existing Centrica sites and work with third-parties to build production on their sites too.

A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed and will combine expertise in order to kickstart the development of the UK hydrogen economy, targeting the mobility, industrial and commercial markets.

There are also some other interesting statements in the press release.

  • Centrica’s Head of Hydrogen, says that we should be bold in our thinking about hydrogen.
  • The partnership will explore how the UK can work with international hydrogen production facilities.
  • Jo Bamford, green entrepreneur and Executive Chairman of Ryze, believes that Centrica are very serious about hydrogen.
  • Centrica and Ryse will convert some of the British Gas fleet to hydrogen.

I feel this could be a very significant deal for the decarbonisation of the UK.

December 1, 2022 Posted by | Hydrogen | , , , , | 3 Comments

Centrica Partners With Hull-Based HiiRoc For Hydrogen Fuel Switch Trial At Humber Power Plant

The title of this post, is the same as that on this article on Business Live.

This is a paragraph.

It comes as the owner of British Gas has also increased its shareholding in the three-year-old business to five per cent. Last November it was one of several investors to pump £28 million into HiiRoc alongside Melrose Industries, HydrogenOne, Cemex, Hyundai and Kia, who joined existing strategic investors Wintershall Dea and VNG.

This could be sensational.

The reason I said that was that I used to share an office at ICI Mond Division, with Peter, who was putting instruments on a plant called the Badische. It was a new process to create acetylene. If I remember correctly, the process was as follows.

Ethylene was burned and then quenched in naptha.

The trouble was that the process produced a lot of carbon, which clogged the burners, and masses of black smoke, which upset everybody in Runcorn, especially on washing day!

Someone was worried that the plant might go into explosive limits, so Peter had devised a clever infra-red instrument to read the composition of the off-gas from the burner. It was found to be in explosive limits and ICI shut it down. BASF said ICI were wrong and there was no way to measure the composition of the off-gas anyway. A few months later BASF’s plant exploded and buried itself in a hillside in Southern Germany. Upon hearing this news, ICI shut the Badische for ever. ICI were annoyed in that they had to spend £200,000 on a flameless cutter to dismantle the plant.

I do wonder, if HiiROC have tamed BASF’s beast to do something useful, like produce hydrogen and carbon black!

November 2, 2022 Posted by | Energy, Hydrogen | , , , , , | 6 Comments

Centrica Re-Opens Rough Storage Facility

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Centrica.

It has this sub-heading.

Rough Operational For Winter And Increases UK’s Storage Capacity By 50%.

On the face of it, this sounds like good news and these two paragraphs give more details.

Centrica has announced the reopening of the Rough gas storage facility, having completed significant engineering upgrades over the summer and commissioning over early autumn.

The initial investment programme means the company has made its first injection of gas into the site in over 5 years and is in a position to store up to 30 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas for UK homes and businesses over winter 2022/23, boosting the UK’s energy resilience.

Note.

  1. The Rough gas storage facility has been able to hold up to 100 billion cubic feet of gas in the past.
  2. Rough is a complex field with two platforms and thirty wells transferring gas to and from the facility.
  3. Additionally, there is an onshore gas-processing terminal at the Easington Gas Terminal, where it connects to the UK gas network.

It appears to be a comprehensive gas storage facility, that should get us through the 2022/3 winter.

These two paragraphs from the press release, which are the thoughts of the Centrica Chief Executive are significant.

Centrica Group Chief Executive, Chris O’Shea, said “I’m delighted that we have managed to return Rough to storage operations for this winter following a substantial investment in engineering modifications. Our long-term aim remains to turn the Rough field into the world’s biggest methane and hydrogen storage facility, bolstering the UK’s energy security, delivering a net zero electricity system by 2035, decarbonising the UK’s industrial clusters, such as the Humber region by 2040, and helping the UK economy by returning to being a net exporter of energy.

“In the short term we think Rough can help our energy system by storing natural gas when there is a surplus and producing this gas when the country needs it during cold snaps and peak demand. Rough is not a silver bullet for energy security, but it is a key part of a range of steps which can be taken to help the UK this winter.”

Note.

  1. Effectively, in the short term, Rough is a store for gas to help us through the winter.
  2. In the long-term, Rough will be turned into the world’s largest gas storage facility.
  3. It will be able to store both methane (natural gas) and hydrogen.

Having worked with project managers on complex oil and gas platforms and chemical plants, I wouldn’t be surprised to find, that when the design of this facility is released, it will be something special.

Centrica certainly seem to have upgraded Rough to be able to play a significant short term role this winter and they also seem to have developed a plan to give it a significant long-term role in the storage of hydrogen.

Aldbrough Gas Storage

A few miles up the coast is SSE’s and Equinor’s Aldbrough Gas Storage, which is being developed in salt caverns to hold natural gas and hydrogen.

Blending Of Hydrogen And Natural Gas

I believe that we’ll see a lot of blending of hydrogen and natural gas.

  • Up to 20 % of hydrogen can be blended, without the need to change appliances, boilers and processes.
  • This cuts carbon dioxide emissions.

I wrote about this in a post called HyDeploy.

It might be convenient to store hydrogen in Aldbrough and natural gas in Rough, so that customers could have the blend of gas they needed.

With two large gas stores for hydrogen under development, the HumberZero cluster is on its way.

October 28, 2022 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage, Hydrogen | , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

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