Stay the hydrogen course

SGN chief executive Mark Wild talks to Utility Week news editor Rob Horgan about returning to the sector after a 20-year hiatus, the lessons that can be learned from Crossrail for the energy transition, and the role that hydrogen has to play in the home heating mix.

Anyone who says heat pumps are the sole answer to the UK’s future home heating conundrum is being completely fantastical, Mark Wild states when asked to weigh in on the gas sector’s potential sword of Damocles.

In a frank addendum, the SGN chief executive admits that he “would of course say that running a gas business”, but he adds: “It’s also completely fantastical to think that hydrogen on its own is the answer.” Instead, Wild supports the notion that a “harmonious mix of technologies” will be required to heat the 22 million properties around the UK currently powered by gas.

“If you step back and take a whole-systems view, which I like to do, then the truth is that there is no way heat pumps can do everything,” Wild says. “In fact, the rollout of heat pumps could actually be quite limited. Take my terraced house in Wandsworth, for example, I don’t think you could put in a heat pump; there’s literally nowhere for me to put it.”

He adds: “What I’ve come to believe is that we need a dual powered system, that it’ll be heat pumps and an alternative for natural gas – which we believe will be hydrogen. Mostly, because if we tried to go down the total electrification route, then it’s just fantastical. How could you possibly electrify everywhere when the grid’s already heavily constrained? There is no way heat pumps in this country will bridge the gap.

“To think you could ever have enough electricity, even if customers are willing to accept the huge disruption that comes with heat pump installation, would be really foolish. There has to be a dual solution. I’m not saying there aren’t challenges with proving the role for hydrogen, and in some circumstances electrification might be a better solution. I’m saying we need both.”

His stance reflects the measured, pragmatic thinking for which Wild was heavily praised in his previous role at the helm of Crossrail. Taking on the job of delivering Britain’s most expensive railway to date, Wild stepped into the hot seat in late 2018 when many others would have run a mile. Billions of pounds over budget, running years later than promised, the role of Crossrail chief executive was seen by many in 2018 as a poisoned chalice, with the previous regime falling on their swords as a result of the project’s failings. But for Wild, the challenge of solving major infrastructure problems is what drives him. And it is largely why the former electrical engineer returned to the energy sector after a 20-year hiatus.

The day after the first train ran on the Elizabeth line, in May 2022, Wild stepped down from his post. We met for a coffee near to one of the railway’s flagship stations and he was already eyeing up his next challenge: energy. Yet to take up the hotseat at SGN – and first preparing to conquer Spain’s Camino de Santiago – Wild stated: “Let’s be honest, what bigger challenge is there at the moment than energy?”

One year on after taking the helm at SGN, Wild is still revelling in the challenge. His enthusiasm for the sector verges on obsessive, as he reveals that he keeps tabs on the make-up of the UK’s energy supply several times a day via an app. In fact, he says, it is now his “favourite thing to do”, as he whips out his phone and proudly states that “right now 58% of our electricity is coming from gas, 22% from solar and a little bit from wind”.

The son of coal miner from County Durham, Wild started his career in energy after training as an electrical engineer, before a 20-year stint in the transportation sector which saw him lead the London Underground before his switch to Crossrail. He admits that he “never thought of returning to energy” but was lured by the challenge which net-zero ambitions have thrown up.

“When I left energy in the 90s, I honestly thought that was me done and that I wouldn’t be coming back,” Wild says. “It’s really like night and day, from 1997/98, when I left, to now. It really is a completely different energy sector. It’s much more dynamic.

“For me there are three big vectors which make energy an exciting sector to be in. First you’ve got the need to get to net zero, which throws up complex challenges for the whole of society. Second, you’ve got the rapid evolution of technology; there is a real change, massive change on the scale that we have not seen before. And finally, there is tackling the burden on people’s bills across the whole sector and what that means for wider society.”

He adds: “One of the main reasons I came to SGN is that I really believe there’s a future for the hydrogen economy. In my eyes it is the next industrial revolution and we are currently on the foothills of something quite interesting and I wanted to be a part of it.”

While Wild’s optimism is undoubtedly infectious, the role that hydrogen will play in home heating has come under increased scrutiny in recent months, with some commentators suggesting that the government’s sudden decision to axe the Whitby village trial points to a cooling of political support for the gas. Others, including the House of Lords environment and climate change committee, have accused the government of sending “mixed messages” on the role hydrogen will play in the heating mix.

Wild, however, doesn’t see it that way.

“There are no serious commentators suggesting that hydrogen hasn’t got a major role to play somewhere, either in generation, storage, industrial use or commercial,” Wild says. “You look at what’s happening all around the world, there is literally a technological race going on [around hydrogen]. And up until now the UK has really been leading the way.”

He adds: “If you take a step back and look at what the Department [of Energy Security and Net Zero] is actually doing then I think it’s clear they are still fully invested in seeing hydrogen through. The department policy is to follow an evidentiary path for hydrogen while at the same time there are many electrification pathways as well.

“So there’s a lot of noise. But if you actually look at what the department’s doing, I think they’re doing a really good job and they’re following through on what they’ve set out. We have just got to stay the course and I’m very confident that we’ll get to a position where we will prove domestic heat by hydrogen works.”

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