Policy

UK's only green hydrogen heating trial delayed by up to a year amid 'supply-chain and procurement challenges'

But installation work on H100 Fife’s dedicated electrolysis system has now begun

SGN's green hydrogen production facility, currently under construction in Fife.
SGN's green hydrogen production facility, currently under construction in Fife.Photo: SGN
Deputy Editor
A 300-home hydrogen heating trial in Scotland that was due to be launched later this year — amid an ongoing debate over the safety and economics of H2 domestic heating — has been delayed until the summer of 2025, the gas distributor behind the project has said.

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The H100 Fife project — in the town of Buckhaven, in the Fife region of eastern Scotland — has fallen prey to supply-chain challenges, gas company SGN said, without giving any further details.

“It’s taking longer than we planned to deliver this world-first project which has faced supply chain and procurement challenges,” the company stated in an update on its H100 Fife website.

This amounts to a delay of at least six months, and potentially as much as a year, given that it was originally due to launch in the second half of 2024, ahead of a projected government decision on H2 in heating in 2026.
SGN had not responded to questions from Hydrogen Insight at the time of publication.

So far, the project’s 8.5km new hydrogen network is 65% finished, while the foundations of SGN’s green hydrogen production facility are complete and work on the project’s electrolysis system is now under way.

The new facility has also seen the installation of four of its giant H2 storage tanks, which will hold hydrogen produced from the electrolyser for a steady supply of molecules during periods of low renewables supply.

The H100 electrolyser will be powered by a 7MW demonstration offshore wind turbine owned by UK government-backed research institute Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, which is currently supplying electricity to local homes.

But while two similar hydrogen heating trial programmes in England were abandoned last year in the face of rebellions from residents, the H100 Fife programme appears to have escaped significant public opposition.

This is despite the fact that well over 50 studies have now found that hydrogen is unlikely to play a significant role in domestic heating, while independent experts have warned about the safety implications of using hydrogen in a domestic setting, including increased risks of explosions, leaks and harmful NOx emissions from burning H2.

And although the project has promised trial participants that they will pay not more for hydrogen heating than they would for natural gas, hydrogen is generally at least three times more expensive than gas.

Nevertheless, SGN says that H100 Fife enjoys the support of the local community.

“We continue to have great support from the community in Buckhaven and Denbeath and are committed to ensuring that residents taking part in H100 Fife receive a first-class customer experience as they lead the world in this ground-breaking green project.”

The lack of opposition could be due to the fact that the project includes its own dedicated hydrogen pipeline system, meaning that households that do not want to participate can continue using their gas supply, meaning that inclusion in the trial is completely voluntary.

However, the scheme reportedly faced difficulties recruiting households to take part when it launched in 2021, and resorted to offering £1,000 ($1,231) payments to encourage participation.
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HeatingSGNGreen H2ScotlandUK
Published 22 April 2024, 12:51Updated 22 April 2024, 14:28