Government backs ‘urgent’ hydrogen pipeline construction

The government has pledged to extend current legislation which will pave the way for construction and use of offshore hydrogen pipelines.

The change to the Petroleum Act 1998 will enable the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) to authorise hydrogen pipelines in the same way that it currently approves applications for traditional oil and gas pipelines.

The government revealed that it will lay the legislative changes before Parliament this autumn, in its official response to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) consultation on offshore hydrogen regulation.

Its response adds: “We believe that the existing regulatory system has sufficient flexibilities to enable it to provide workable and effective solutions for FOAK [first-of-a-kind] offshore hydrogen projects to progress, pending any longer-term reform.

“Both industry and the government are keen to operationalise safe and viable projects urgently.”

The government response also states that construction of offshore hydrogen pipelines will be accelerated by the streamlining of the development consent order (DCO) process.

The consultation response adds that the “lack of legislation concerning offshore hydrogen consents currently means that hydrogen projects, depending on the purpose and/or delivery system, do not have a clear consenting route for some forms of offshore hydrogen development”.

It adds: “In particular, one of the respondents [to the consultation] stated that the current lack of clear regulation is delaying FOAK projects and jeopardising the growth of offshore hydrogen production.”

Seven respondents to the consultation said that the government proposals for offshore hydrogen pipelines will “provide regulatory certainty for offshore activities, providing timely clarity to project developers to develop FOAK projects”, with one respondent noting that this will “provide an overall rapid consenting approach”.

The move comes amid growing concern that the UK is lagging behind other countries when it comes to hydrogen progress.

Earlier this week, the Energy Networks Association (ENA) warned that more certainty is needed on the UK’s future hydrogen plans if the country is going to grasp the economic opportunity hydrogen represents.

Research by ENA’s gas members and Hydrogen UK reveals that the UK has fallen six places in two years, from second to eighth position internationally, in an index that assesses how ready major economies are to effectively use hydrogen to help decarbonise their energy systems.

Silvia Simon, head of hydrogen at the ENA, said: “The UK was streets ahead of the global competition in 2021 in the race to use hydrogen to help build a decarbonised energy system, but UK industry has been forced to watch other countries catch up and risk leaving us behind.

“The hydrogen industry wants to continue to work closely with government to jointly deliver a long-term vision for a decarbonised UK. By working together we can regain pole position.”

Meanwhile Clare Jackson, chief executive of Hydrogen UK, added: “Policy delays and lack of clarity from government has slowed the progression of low-carbon hydrogen projects.

“We are still waiting for the Energy Bill to be passed, which was introduced to Parliament over a year ago. The UK has the capability and innovation to be a global hydrogen leader, and we urge government to prioritise our recommendations to achieve this.”

Hydrogen ‘bank’ could give Scotland the edge

While concerns around consenting and legislation have been mounting, scientists at the University of Aberdeen have been busy developing technology that will enable electricity generated by renewables to be “banked” as green hydrogen in depleted oil and gas reservoirs alongside industrial carbon emissions.

The first phase of the project uses a combination of modelling, simulation and laboratory experimentation to evaluate the most effective means of transporting hydrogen through the onshore and offshore North Sea pipeline network, with the aim of developing digital tools that will enable transportation to homes and businesses.

It is also investigating the co-storage of hydrogen and carbon dioxide in depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs and aquifers, with CO2 acting as a “cushion” gas. This technique has never been attempted before but its backers claim could be used to store blue hydrogen and the associated CO2 at a large scale.

Prashant Jadhawar, from the university’s School of Engineering, said that the development of these technologies is a potential “game-changer” which could play a major role in helping Scotland meet its target of 5GW of green and low-carbon hydrogen production by 2030.

“This target relies on there being sufficient hydrogen storage capacity which only subsurface geological formations such as depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs or aquifers can deliver on such a large TeraWatt (TWh) scale,” he said.

“Through our current research we have estimated up to a 20TWh hydrogen storage capacity, as well as the permanent sequestration of 50 million tons of CO2 in a single UKCS reservoir investigated so far.

“By offering the safe and effective storage of bulk quantities of hydrogen and CO2, our project offers a unique opportunity to help Scotland meet its hydrogen production targets as well as offering the potential for Scotland to become a net exporter of hydrogen.

“It will also help extend the life of depleted oil and gas reservoirs and associated infrastructure, helping ensure a continued and important role for the North Sea in the net zero economy.”