Bay Hydrogen Hub – Hydrogen4Hanson

• Project owner: EDF Energy Nuclear Generation Ltd
  
• Partners: Heidelberg Materials UK, National Nuclear Laboratory Limited, EDF Energy R&D UK Centre Limited, Asphalt Burner Services Ltd (part of the Vulcan Asphalt Group)
  
• Location: Lancashire
  
• Amount being awarded: £3,458,163.29

Project description

The Bay Hydrogen Hub project is a key stepping-stone towards developing nuclear hydrogen production, and towards the decarbonisation of the asphalt industry.

The project will detail how solid-oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) technology integrated with nuclear heat and electricity, can provide low-carbon, low-cost hydrogen, how hydrogen can be delivered to dispersed industrial sites and used as an alternative fuel in the asphalt manufacturing process. A Nuclear Enabled Hydrogen handbook will be produced, providing guidance on key considerations for future commercial deployments of nuclear coupled hydrogen. Asphalt production will be demonstrated at Heidelberg Material’s Criggion asphalt plant in North Wales, using innovative applications of Vulcan Burner’s technology.

Coupling SOEC with nuclear heat and electricity increases hydrogen production efficiency by more than 20% compared to proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis. This demonstration of hydrogen as a fuel at an asphalt plant has the potential for c.3,300T of industry carbon savings per annum, supporting the UK’s net zero goals and ensuring that the UK continues leading the way in the cement and asphalt industries. The project brings together leading collaborators across the energy and hydrogen value chain and intends to accelerate technology development and industry decarbonisation through the application of hydrogen as a fuel. This project could underpin the development of a hydrogen hub and the use of hydrogen to unlock decarbonisation pathways across hard to abate industries, with learnings that could be leveraged in future nuclear new build projects through the production of the Nuclear Enabled Hydrogen Handbook.

HYDESS project (Hydrogen for the decarbonisation of Sheffield steel)

• Project owner: EON UK CHP LTD
  
• Partners: Chesterfield Special Cylinders, Sheffield Forgemasters, Glass Futures, University of Sheffield
  
• Location: Sheffield
  
• Amount being awarded: £936,758.04

Project description

The ‘Hydrogen for the Decarbonisation of Sheffield Steel” (HYDESS) project is assessing the technical and commercial feasibility for end-to-end hydrogen production, transport and end-use in the steel manufacturing industry. The project is led by E.ON and is a partnership with Chesterfield Special Cylinders (CSC), Sheffield Forgemasters (SFEL), Glass Futures (GF) and the University of Sheffield (UoS). Together they’re exploring how to establish a new technically and commercially viable pathway to convert from natural gas over to hydrogen for fuelling steel reheat and heat treatment furnaces. There will be a particular focus on understanding the impact of different blends and burners on commercial steel heating process performance and emission levels as part of a forging process.

Utilising hydrogen production through the electrolysis process, the project will produce hydrogen gas on site at E.ON’s Blackburn Meadows (BBM) biomass power station. The gas will then be stored and transported to local steel product manufacturers using road trailers that are designed and manufactured by CSC using steel cylinders forged on site at their Sheffield factory. This creates a local hydrogen economy whilst enabling these steel manufacturers to decarbonise, in line with their sustainability strategy and the growing demand for green steel.

This front-end engineering design phase of the project will further explore the production, distribution and innovative use of hydrogen for different users. The project has scale-up potential, with opportunities to be replicated at other sites in the region and across the UK being supported by Cadent, Forged Solutions, Sheffield Combined Authority and Sheffield City Council.