Northern Gas Networks has submitted a bid to the Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to host hydrogen town pilots on its gas network

Northern Gas Networks has identified areas for potential town pilots in Hull and East Riding, Teesside and Leeds. Any areas which are selected for development by the Government in the spring will be progressed with outline plans to explore further how they could be converted to hydrogen.  A town pilot would follow a hydrogen village of around 2,000 properties using 100% hydrogen from 2025 and would only progress if a positive decision about hydrogen for heat being, which is currently expected around 2026 is made by the Government..

BEIS invited gas distribution networks to propose plans for conversion of over 10,000 properties from natural gas to hydrogen by 2030, ahead a potential national roll out. The Government’s 10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution and the British energy security strategy includes a hydrogen town pilot by the end of the decade.  Hydrogen could be used to provide heat in the future as, unlike the natural gas we use today, it doesn’t create any carbon when burned, so aligns with Net Zero.

Northern Gas Networks is currently finalising its proposal to host the first hydrogen village on its network in Redcar.   The proposal would see the gas network for around 2,000 properties converted to 100% hydrogen from 2025. The detailed design includes liaising with the local community and developing plans to locally produce and store hydrogen. A decision about whether the Redcar project will go ahead is expected around summer 2023.