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Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number	NIA_SGN0164
Title	HySCALE – Feasibility study of the use of LOHCs for bulk hydrogen storage and transport.
Status	Completed
Energy Categories	Hydrogen and Fuel Cells(Hydrogen, Hydrogen storage) 50%; Hydrogen and Fuel Cells(Hydrogen, Hydrogen transport and distribution) 50%;
Research Types	Applied Research and Development 100%
Science and Technology Fields	ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering) 100%
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation	Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator	Project Contact No email address given SGN
Award Type	Network Innovation Allowance
Funding Source	Ofgem
Start Date	01 June 2020
End Date	01 March 2021
Duration	ENA months
Total Grant Value	£258,152
Industrial Sectors	Energy
Region	South East
Programme	Network Innovation Allowance
Investigators	Principal Investigator	Project Contact , SGN (99.998%)
	Other Investigator	Project Contact , Wales and West Utilities (0.001%) Project Contact , Cadent Gas (0.001%) Project Contact , SGN (99.998%)
	Industrial Collaborator	Project Contact , Wales and West Utilities (0.000%) Project Contact , Cadent Gas (0.000%) Project Contact , SGN (0.000%)
Web Site	https://smarter.energynetworks.org/projects/NIA_SGN0164
Objectives	A feasibility study that will examine the technical and commercial issues associated with the application of LOHCs to capture, store, transport and release hydrogen at bulk scale in the UK.This study will evaluate the ability of Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHC) to capture bulk quantities of hydrogen at large scale existing facilities (e.g. as a by-product from a refinery or renewable hydrogen produced via electrolysis) which can then be stored and transported to demand locations (e.g. gas grid injection, industrial sites, power generation or transportation hubs) where hydrogen is released from the carrier.The suitability of LOHC for long term storage and bulk transport of hydrogen in existing fossil fuel infrastructure will also be evaluated in the feasibility study. The HySCALE LOHC project will quantify the cost advantages of using existing infrastructure to source, transport, store and supply bulk hydrogen.It will compare various LOHCs on technical and commercial factors to select the ideal chemical for GB wide use. This includes 100% of the globally available chemicals for LOHC commercial systems by technology providers (Framatome and Chiyoda). It will evaluate the cost benefits of LOHC vs other methods of transporting hydrogen (compressed and liquid). This will feed into a commercial plan for the rollout of LOHC dedicated HySCALE infrastructure solution. It will further screen a number of potential sites across GB for a demonstration project and proceed with basic engineering of one selected site.The outcomes from this project will be a number of reports that can be used to demonstrate the feasibility of using LOHCs for the storage and transport of hydrogen, the commercial and technical selection of the appropriate LOHC chemical, a technoeconomic study of the use of LOHC for bulk applications like grid injection and offgrid use, an associated commercial rollout plan of the LOHC based supply solution and the basic engineering design of a demonstration project.The findings from this project will provide beneficial information to ongoing SGN projects such as H100, Aberdeen Vision, NGGTs HyNTS FutureGrid and Cadents HyNET project. This project aligns to the future of gas, future of heat and decarbonisation aspects within SGNs Energy futures Strategy. This project will aim to build upon existing knowledge of hydrogen generation, hydrogen demand, existing fossil fuel infrastructure (transport & Storage), H2 injection into the GB gas grid and will build knowledge and understanding in the following areas: Research global liquid hydrogen carriers (including LOHC, Ammonia, Methane) and LOHC projects and ongoing activity to understand its current development status. An examination and analysis of markets for bulk hydrogen delivered via LOHC. This will include grid injection, off-grid communities and industries, fuel switching and substitution, transport and export from the UK. Evaluate the techno-economics of LOHC. This will include the estimation of capital and operating costs, plant utilisation rates and learning rates based on scaled up units for bulk sourcing and supply. Variability of demand (Intra-day and inter-seasonal) will be taken into consideration. This will result in a levelised cost of hydrogen that will be compared to compressed and liquid hydrogen transport methods. A business plan for the HySCALE (LOHC based) hydrogen supply and storage solution. This will include the go to market strategy, a business model of this new solution and a detailed commercialisation plan including financing requirement and funding opportunities Selection and basic design of a demonstration project. Several sites across GB will be screened for their potential to host a first of its kind LOHC plant. A selected site will be identified for the basic engineering design for such a demonstration project. The objectives of this project are to: Outline the possibility of using LOHC for bulk hydrogen sourcing and storage across UK. To determine the best in class LOHC by evaluating the technology and also safety aspects of such chemicals. Arrive at a cost curve of LOHC hydrogen. If beneficial to incorporate this emerging technology into current SMR and storage of Hydrogen plans across GB in order to bring overall costs down. Understand the carbon footprint of the reversible reactions of storing hydrogen in LOHC. Understand the criteria for site selection of LOHC projects. Identify the key barriers, risk assessment and optimized business models for the accelerated commercialization of LOHC based hydrogen.
Abstract	A feasibility study that will examine the technical and commercial issues associated with the application of LOHCs to capture, store, transport and release hydrogen at bulk scale in the UK.
Publications	(none)
Final Report	(none)
Added to Database	02/11/22