The role of hydrogen for decarbonising dispersed industry sites in the UK

未来十年，英国的氢生产可能会大幅增加，用于工业，家庭和运输，作为实现2050年净零温室气体目标的一部分（HM Government 2021）。政府的“绿色工业革命十点计划”设定了到2030年低碳氢生产5吉瓦的目标，政府计算低碳氢的增长可以在2023年至2032年之间节省41 MtCO 2当量（HM Government，2020年）。关于不同形式的低碳氢生产有大量的研究，其中一些技术现在已经准备好进行商业部署。相比之下，仍然需要对氢气的下游应用进行研究，包括对不同经济部门中最有前途的氢气使用技术及其更广泛的影响进行技术经济评估（Griffiths，2021）。这项研究旨在通过探索氢气在所谓的“分散”工业场所脱碳中的作用来帮助填补这一空白。这些地点不是大型工业集群的一部分，而大型工业集群是目前政府努力脱碳工业的重点，但却占英国工业温室气体排放总量的一半左右。关键的研究问题将包括：与分散的工业场所相关的最重要的氢技术是什么，它们需要进一步的研究、开发和示范？这些氢技术在成本和性能方面如何比较，以及这些技术在未来会如何变化？哪些更广泛的驱动因素和障碍将影响其部署？选定的工业部门脱碳可能需要多少氢气？使用氢气可能会节省多少二氧化碳？从工业废物流中产生氢气的机会有哪些？分散地点使用氢气对现有天然气网络有何影响？部署这些技术会对上游基础设施产生什么影响？这项研究将为氢的长期机会提供重要信息，以帮助英国工业的广泛脱碳，而不是传统上关注有限数量的高能源密集型行业。英国工业脱碳战略中的情景表明，如果不使用氢气和CCS脱碳分散站点，到2050年工业排放量可能会增加三倍以上。这项研究将为政府制定有关氢和工业脱碳的政策提供重要见解。它还可以帮助更广泛的氢研究界了解技术研发的优先领域以及更广泛的社会技术问题。该项目将主要与EPSRC的氢和替代能源载体研究领域合作，解决优先事项，如：将氢转化为基础设施并将氢与能源系统联系起来;将氢用作工业原料和工业加热。链接到社会科学界，以更好地了解氢作为能源所涉及的社会技术和经济因素。该研究还与EPSRC的其他研究领域有联系，包括燃料电池研究和能源网络。参考文献Griffiths，S; Sovacool; BK; Kim，J; Bazilian，M; Uratani，JM. 2021.工业脱碳通过氢：发展，社会技术系统和政策选择的关键和系统的审查，能源研究与社会科学，第80卷，102208.HM政府（2020）的十点计划为绿色工业革命。重建得更好，支持绿色工作，加速我们实现净零排放的道路。英国政府（2021年）工业脱碳战略。由商业、能源和工业战略大臣提交议会，CP 399。

Hydrogen production in the UK is likely to increase substantially in the next decade for use in industry, homes and transport as part of efforts to meet the net-zero greenhouse gas target for 2050 (HM Government 2021). The Government's Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution sets a target of 5 GW of low carbon hydrogen production by 2030 and the Government calculates that the growth of low carbon hydrogen could deliver savings of 41 MtCO2e between 2023 and 2032 (HM Government, 2020). There is a significant body of research on different forms of low carbon hydrogen production and some of these technologies are now ready for commercial deployment. In contrast, there is still research needed on downstream applications of hydrogen, including techno-economic assessments of the most promising hydrogen using technologies in different sectors of the economy and their wider implications (Griffiths, 2021). This research aims to help fill this gap, by exploring the role of hydrogen in decarbonising so called "dispersed" industry sites. These sites are not part of large industrial clusters, which are the current focus of government efforts to decarbonise industry and yet are responsible for around half of total UK industrial greenhouse gas emissions. Key research questions will include:What are the most important hydrogen technologies relevant for dispersed industrial sites and what further research, development and demonstration do they need?How do these hydrogen technologies compare in terms of cost and performance and how might these change in the future?What wider drivers and barriers will affect their deployment?What are the likely volumes of hydrogen needed for decarbonising the selected industry sectors?What are the likely CO2 savings from the use of hydrogen?What opportunities are there for hydrogen generation from industrial waste streams?What are the implications for the existing gas networks of hydrogen use at dispersed sites?What would be the upstream infrastructure implications of deploying these technologies?This research will be important in informing the longer-term opportunities for hydrogen to help decarbonise a broad swathe of UK industry, outside the traditional focus on a limited number of highly energy intensive sectors. Scenarios in the UK's Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy show that without the use of hydrogen and CCS decarbonise dispersed sites, industrial emissions could be more than three times higher by 2050. This research will provide important insights to inform Government policy on the development of hydrogen and industrial decarbonisation. It could also help inform the wider hydrogen research community in terms of priority areas for technology research and development, as well broader socio-technical issues. This project will mainly sit with the EPSRC research area of hydrogen and alternative energy vectors, addressing priorities such as:Incorporating hydrogen into infrastructure and linking hydrogen into energy systems;Using hydrogen as industrial feedstock and for industrial heating. Links to the social science community to gain a better understanding of the sociotechnical and economic factors involved in hydrogen as an energy resource. The research also has links to other EPSRC research areas including fuel cell research and energy networks. ReferencesGriffiths, S; Sovacool; BK; Kim, J; Bazilian, M; Uratani, JM. 2021. Industrial decarbonization via hydrogen: A critical and systematic review of developments, socio-technical systems and policy options, Energy Research & Social Science, Volume 80, 102208.HM Government (2020) The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution. Building back better, supporting green jobs, and accelerating our path to net zero. HM Government (2021) Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy. Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, CP399.