REQUESTED EVIDENCE TO BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY COMMITTEE INQUIRY: CARBON CAPTURE, USAGE AND STORAGE – GAS STANDARDS, HYDROGEN AND GSMR
dc.contributor.author
Haszeldine, Robert Stuart
dc.date.accessioned
2023-05-25T09:16:22Z
dc.date.available
2023-05-25T09:16:22Z
dc.date.issued
2018
dc.description.abstract
Gas networks carry the majority of the UK’s energy supply. These can be readily converted
from methane to hydrogen. In fact, pilot projects and other works are under way with safety as
the primary criterion. However, a regulatory blockage is that the Gas Safety (Management)
Regulations (GSMR) set in 1996 are extremely restrictive on the variation of UK gas supply.
Less than 0.1% hydrogen can be incorporated into UK gas supply so that existing pilot tests
can only be undertaken on limited, isolated networks. Coupled with this, customers are
currently charged by calorific value of a gas based on a flow weighted average in a very small
number of billing zones within the UK (specified within the Gas (Calculation of Thermal
Energy) Regulations (CoTER)). There are only 13 zones and Scotland, for example, is just
one zone, which requires all gas sources into that network to be enriched or deriched to the
prevailing gas quality for the entire zone. This methodology has to change to allow blending of
hydrogen into the network.
Both these key pieces of outdated legislation will block demonstrations and roll-out of
hydrogen blending or conversion. And this will block the UK’s decarbonisation progress.
Funds for hydrogen blending and conversion should be included in the control period bids by
gas networks, which will become settled in late 2019, for 2021-26 spending. GSMR and
CoTER regulations can only be altered by Government, the Health and Safety Executive and
Ofgem, respectively. That needs Government action. Guarantee of GSMR and CoTER
changes will enable investment to be agreed by the boards of gas networks. Both GSMR and
CoTER are on the decarbonisation critical path to adoption of hydrogen as an energy carrier
through the existing gas infrastructure, be it through blending or full conversion.
en
dc.identifier.uri
https://hdl.handle.net/1842/40618
dc.language.iso
en
en
dc.publisher
SCCS
en
dc.relation.ispartofseries
WP SCCS 2018-10
en
dc.subject
CCUS; Hydrogen; Gas standards
en
dc.title
REQUESTED EVIDENCE TO BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY COMMITTEE INQUIRY: CARBON CAPTURE, USAGE AND STORAGE – GAS STANDARDS, HYDROGEN AND GSMR
en
dc.type
Working Paper
en
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