National Grid receives more than £9m for launch of hydrogen research facility

The National Grid has announced that it is receiving millions of pounds of funding to launch a hydrogen research facility.

The UK’s electricity company is set to be awarded £9.07m of funding from Ofgem to launch the new facility, which will test how gas transmission assets can be used to transport hydrogen to heat homes and energy to industry.

The project will cost £12.7m in total, with the remaining £3m of funding being provided by the project’s partners.

National Grid is aiming to start construction on the facility this year, with trials beginning in 2021.

Antony Green, project director for hydrogen at National Grid, commented: “If we truly want to reach a net zero decarbonised future, we need to replace methane with green alternatives like hydrogen.

“Sectors such as heat are difficult to decarbonise, and the importance of the gas networks to the UK’s current energy supply means projects like this are crucial if we are to deliver low carbon energy, reliably and safely to all consumers.”