First Hydrogen Fuelled Home in the UK
By golly, it’s been a windy and bitterly cold week in the North East of England but thankfully, Blumilk’s Client Director, Lauren St Hilaire was toasty warm over the water in Gateshead thanks to a scheme from the government’s Hy4Heat Innovation Programme.
The UK’s first hydrogen-fuelled home
Located in Low Thornely, Gateshead, this incredible project, affectionately named ‘Hy Grove’ has seen two residential semi-detached homes being fuelled exclusively by Hydrogen; from boilers to hobs, cookers to fires, all of which release no carbon emissions whatsoever.
1 Hy Grove is the first hydrogen fuelled home and offers a glimpse into a zero-carbon home of the future demonstrating the potential to aid the Government in its ambitions to eliminate the UK’s contribution to climate change by 2050.
The project secured a £250k grant from the Government’s Hy4Heat Innovation Programme and is being run by gas company Northern Gas Networks and Cadent Gas, who have both also invested £250k of funding each respectively.
Chief Executive Officer of Northern Gas Networks, Mark Horsely, said: ‘We’re delighted to be working with NEIS and Cadent on this unique demonstration, which gives energy customers a first glimpse at hydrogen technology in the home.
‘Just like natural gas, hydrogen can heat homes in exactly the same way, meaning minimal change for customers in terms of how they use gas for heating or cooking.
‘The houses bring to life the potential of this green gas for keeping UK homes warm while minimising the impact on the environment.’
Chief Executive Officer of Cadent Gas, Steve Fraser, said: ‘We are proud to be part of this project where we will be able to show customers what their future gas appliances look like. A familiar sight to them, with one difference, they will be powered by hydrogen.
‘These projects are so important to demonstrate a decarbonised energy solution in homes now.’
This project forms the basis of a much larger scheme set out in the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan which also includes some exciting plans to establish a Hydrogen Neighbourhood and possibly even a Hydrogen-powered town before this decade is out.
Unlike natural gas which currently powers more than 23 million homes in the UK and is responsible for more than 30% of the UK’s carbon emissions, hydrogen uses no carbon at the point of use with the only by-product being water.
Not only is this a massively positive step for our environment, but the scheme is also set to create more than 8000 jobs nationwide by 2030, with that figure rising to 100,000 by 2050.
Energy Minister, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, said: ‘From running a hot bath and cooking our evening meals to turning on the heating, most of us use natural gas every day. However, to tackle climate change, we need to find alternatives to fossil fuels and move towards making clean energy the norm.
‘While these new houses in Gateshead will look like any other, they will showcase how low carbon hydrogen can transform the way we power our homes and offer a glimpse of what the future holds as we build back greener.’
To say Lauren and Kim were impressed is an understatement with the race to net zero firmly on Blumilk’s agenda and also that of each of their clients they support with their decarbonisation plans every day.
To find out more on how Blumilk can assist you in the Race to Zero, get in touch with us today at info@blumilk.com.