High-Performance Heat-Powered Heat-Pumps (HP3)

英国在电力行业脱碳方面取得了相当大的进展。然而，让采暖系统脱碳的挑战要大得多。目前，空间供暖约占中国二氧化碳排放量的三分之一。这种情况必须改变，以实现净零排放。目前正在考虑两种主要的低碳加热解决方案：1)锅炉氢气燃烧直接加热；2)电驱动热泵。尽管两者都很有希望，但仍有严峻的挑战需要克服。国家电网和其他天然气网络运营商已经确认了通过现有天然气基础设施分配氢气的技术可行性，该基础设施连接了2300万套天然气资产。氢气锅炉还没有投入商业使用，但它们正在顺利进行中。氢气可以从可再生电力中提取；然而，一个很大的缺点是，当在锅炉中燃烧时，我们回收的能量只有我们制造氢气所花费的能量的60%左右。这不是一个效率很高的过程。电动热泵的效率要高得多。它们提供的热量可能是它们消耗的电量的3倍。因此，每使用1千瓦时的电力，热泵就会产生3千瓦时的热量。这与使用同样1千瓦时的电力制造氢气，并在锅炉中燃烧氢气所获得的0.6千瓦时形成鲜明对比。尽管使用电动热泵似乎是可行的，但存在一个主要问题。电网没有能力支持在很大一部分英国家庭中使用它们。其原因是供暖的能源需求巨大。冬季，燃气管网高峰需求量是电网高峰需求量的4倍以上。而且，在每天的头几个小时里，天然气网络经历的电力斜坡比电网看到的要大10倍。电网没有能力提供与天然气网络相同水平的能量和电力。使电网能够承担天然气网络的职责所需的升级成本太高，不可行。正是这些挑战阻碍了英国向低碳供暖的转型。这一博士后奖学金通过研究和开发一套名为“高性能热力热泵(HP3)”的新技术来解决这一问题。这些创新的供暖系统结合了正在考虑的两种主要低碳选择(氢气锅炉和电动热泵)的最佳特性，同时消除了它们的缺点。HP3系统的广泛采用将使燃气网络能够将氢气分配到全国各地的家庭，从而在冬季继续供应巨大的能源需求。与氢气锅炉相比，HP3系统提供了更大的单位H2消耗效益。这将帮助天然气网络向更多的家庭供应氢气，同时，消费者也将享受到更少的账单。通过保持燃气网络的运行，HP3系统的使用将避免给电网带来过大的负荷，如果该国采用电力驱动的热泵。该研究金将开发详细的计算模型来模拟HP3系统的运行，以了解不同的设计和运行变量对其性能的影响。将特别注重探索超高运行压力，这可以导致机组总成本的降低。将开发和测试实验室原型，以演示功能概念。这项工作具有两种不同的转型前景：(I)触发英国“锅炉行业”向更复杂和更高价值产品的转变；(Ii)通过提高可负担性来加速实现净零。

The UK has made considerable progress decarbonising its power sector. However, decarbonising space-heating has been much more challenging. Currently, space-heating accounts for ~1/3 of the country's CO2 emissions. This must change to achieve Net Zero Two main low-carbon heating solutions are being considered: 1) direct heating from hydrogen combustion in boilers and 2) electrically-driven heat-pumping. Although both are promising, there are serious challenges to overcome. National Grid and other gas network operators have confirmed the technical feasibility of distributing hydrogen through the existing gas infrastructure, which connects >23 million properties. Hydrogen boilers are not commercially available yet, but they are well underway. Hydrogen can be made from renewable electricity; however, a big downside is that when combusted in boilers, the amount of energy we recover is only ~60% of what we spent making it. It is not a very efficient process. Electric heat pumps have a much higher efficiency. The amount of heat they provide can be as much as 3x the amount of electricity they consume. So, for every 1kWh of electricity used, a heat pump will give 3kWh of heat. This in stark contrast to the 0.6 kWh that would be obtained if the same 1kWh of electricity was used to make hydrogen, and that hydrogen was combusted in a boiler. Although it seems like using electric heat pumps is the way to go, there is a major problem. The electricity grid does not have the capacity to support their use in any significant fraction of UK homes. The reason for this is the huge energy demand for heating purposes. During winter, the peak demand in the gas network is more than 4x than the peak demand in the electricity grid. But also, during the first few hours of each day, the gas network experiences power-ramps that are 10x greater than what the electricity grid sees. The electricity grid does not have the capacity to provide the same levels of energy and power as the gas network. The upgrades required to enable the electricity grid to take on the gas network's duty are too expensive to be viable. It is precisely these challenges that are holding back the UK's transition to low-carbon heating. This postdoctoral fellowship addresses this issue by investigating and developing a deep understanding of a novel set of technologies called 'High-Performance Heat-Powered Heat-Pumps (HP3)'. These innovative heating systems combine the best attributes of the two main low-carbon options being considered (hydrogen boilers and electric heat pumps) and at the same time, removes their drawbacks.The widespread adoption of HP3 systems will enable the gas network to distribute hydrogen to homes across the country and therefore to continue to supply the enormous demand for energy during winter. HP3 systems deliver a greater benefit per unit of H2 consumed in comparison to hydrogen boilers. This will help the gas network to supply hydrogen to even more homes but also, consumers will enjoy reduced bills. By keeping the gas network in service, the use of HP3 systems will avoid placing an overwhelmingly large load on the electricity grid that would be created if the country adopted electrically-driven heat-pumping.This fellowship will develop detailed computational models to simulate the operation of HP3 systems in order to understand the effect that different design and operational variables have on their performance. Special focus will be given to exploring ultra-high operating pressures at this can lead to reductions in the overall cost of the units. A laboratory prototype will be developed and tested to demonstrate the functionality concept. This work has real prospects to be transformational in two different ways: (i) triggering a step-change in the UK 'boiler industry' towards more sophisticated and much higher-value products and (ii) accelerating the achievement of Net Zero by improving affordability.