HyDeploy is a pioneering hydrogen energy project designed to help reduce UK CO2 emissions and reach the Government’s net zero target for 2050.
As the first ever live demonstration of hydrogen in homes, HyDeploy aims to prove that blending up to 20% volume of hydrogen with natural gas is a safe and greener alternative to the gas we use now. It is providing evidence on how customers don’t have to change their cooking or heating appliances to take the blend, which means less disruption and cost for them. It is also confirming initial findings that customers don’t notice any difference when using the hydrogen blend.
First Phase
HyDeploy @ Keele is the first stage of this three stage programme. In November 2019, the UK Health & Safety Executive gave permission to run a live test of blended hydrogen and natural gas on part of the private gas network at Keele University campus in Staffordshire. HyDeploy is the first project in the UK to inject hydrogen into a natural gas network.
Second and Third Phases
Once the Keele stage has been completed, HyDeploy will move to a larger demonstration on a public network in the North East. After that, HyDeploy will have another large demonstration in the North West. These are designed to test the blend across a range of networks and customers so that the evidence is representative of the UK as a whole. With HSE approval, and success at Keele, these phases will go ahead in the early 2020s.
The longer term goal
Once the evidence has been submitted to Government policy makers, we very much expect hydrogen to take its place alongside other forms of zero carbon energy in meeting the needs of the UK population.