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

作为实现2050年净零温室气体目标的一部分（英国政府2021年），未来十年，英国的氢气产量可能会大幅增加，用于工业、家庭和交通运输。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，政府计算出低碳氢的增长可以在2023年至2032年之间节省4100万吨二氧化碳当量（HM政府，2020年）。对不同形式的低碳氢生产进行了大量的研究，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。这些工厂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使工业脱碳的重点，但它们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？它们需要哪些进一步的研究、开发和示范？这些氢技术在成本和性能方面的比较如何？这些技术在未来可能会发生什么变化？哪些更广泛的驱动因素和障碍会影响它们的部署？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？从工业废水中产生氢气的机会有哪些？在分散的地点使用氢气对现有的气体网络有什么影响？部署这些技术对上游基础设施的影响是什么？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，而不是传统上专注于有限数量的高能源密集型行业。英国工业脱碳战略的设想表明，如果不使用氢气和CCS对分散的场所进行脱碳，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氢发展和工业脱碳政策提供重要见解。它还可以帮助更广泛的氢研究界了解技术研究和开发的优先领域，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，解决以下优先事项：将氢纳入基础设施并将氢与能源系统连接起来；用氢作为工业原料和工业加热。链接到社会科学界，以便更好地了解氢作为能源资源所涉及的社会技术和经济因素。这项研究还与EPSRC的其他研究领域有联系，包括燃料电池研究和能源网络。ReferencesGriffiths年代;Sovacool;汉堡王;金,J;Bazilian, M;Uratani JM。2021. 工业氢脱碳：对发展、社会技术系统和政策选择的批判和系统回顾，能源研究与社会科学，第80卷，102208。英国政府（2020）绿色工业革命的十点计划。重建得更好，支持绿色就业，加速实现净零排放。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给议会，CP399。

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.