Great Britain’s hydrogen infrastructure development — Investment priorities and locational flexibility

Future pathways for Great Britain’s energy system decarbonization have highlighted the importance of low-carbon hydrogen as an energy carrier and demand flexibility support. However, the potential application within various sectors (heating, industry, transport) and production capacity through different technologies (methane reformation with carbon capture, biomass gasification, electrolysis) is highly varying, introducing substantial uncertainties for hydrogen infrastructure development. This study sets out infrastructure priorities and identifies locational flexibility for hydrogen supply and demand options. Advances on limitations of previous research are made by developing an open-source model of the hydrogen system of Great Britain, based on three Net Zero scenarios set out by National Grid in their Future Energy Scenarios, in high temporal and spatial resolution. The model comprehensively covers demand sectors and supply options, in addition to extending the locational considerations of the Future Energy Scenarios. This study recommends prioritizing the establishment of green hydrogen hubs, in the near-term, aligning with demands for synthetic fuels production, industry, and power, which can facilitate the subsequent roll out of up to 10GW of hydrogen production capacity by 2050. The analysis quantifies a high proportion of hydrogen supply and demand which can be located flexibly.