Victoria Mustard, Decarbonisation Strategy Lead at Xoserve, examines the need for multiple energy sources, including natural gas in some form, to support a successful energy transition.
The ambition to deliver a sustainable future and move away from fossil fuels as an energy source is becoming ever more pressing. As the last 18 months have shown – the task of managing the competing demands of energy security, sustainability and affordability isn’t a simple one. How the UK can reach net zero by 2050 is arguably the most difficult question posed to our government in our lifetime.
In the last twelve months, green energy has made huge strides in production levels. Last month, the UK generated one trillion kWh of electricity from renewable sources, enough to power homes for 12 years. With renewable energy making such significant progress, what role will gas have to play in supporting low-carbon energy?
Meeting demand and supporting renewable energy
The government’s Net Zero Strategy and recent “Powering Up Britain” announcement focus strongly on electrification to decarbonise energy, including financial support for heat pumps and electric vehicles. The Net Zero Strategy also predicts that the power demand that electrification will bring will rise by up to 60% as energy production moves away from fossil fuels and towards renewables. The challenges arising from this increase have to be considered, including how quickly capacity can be brought online to meet the new demands.
Despite growth in low-carbon energy generation, the harsh reality is Britain remains heavily reliant on natural gas for electricity production, heating and energy-intensive industries. In 2022, over 40% of electricity was generated by burning fossil fuels such as gas or coal.
Utilising solar and wind generation alone would need tremendous battery storage to maintain demand on overcast and still days or weeks. With battery technology some distance from meeting the scale needed, for now, the UK can’t sustain itself on 100% renewable electricity. However, a low-carbon gas network taking advantage of hydrogen and biogas, for example, could provide supportive energy services, such as seasonal storage, domestic heating, or high-temperature heat for industry.
Factoring in the current renewable energy constraints, it’s unwise to say with certainty that a single fuel could provide a net zero system that ensures energy security, guarantees affordability and meets consumer demand by 2050. Instead, the UK’s energy transition will likely need to include a blend of technologies and low-carbon fuel sources.
Taking advantage of low-carbon, on-demand gas
Hydrogen represents a promising solution for decarbonising gas. It also poses a potential solution to work alongside electrification to bridge the gap for hard-to-abate sectors such as glass, steel and ceramics manufacture, ensuring these sectors’ viability in the global market. The Climate Change Committee predicts low-carbon blue hydrogen, produced from natural gas with carbon capture usage and storage, will play a key role in meeting energy demands until infrastructure, supply chains and energy codes can fully support renewable sources to produce green hydrogen.
The existing gas network could be adapted to facilitate the production and transportation of cost-effective, on-demand hydrogen. National Gas Transmission’s Project Union promises to facilitate a low-cost route to net zero by repurposing existing pipelines to create a hydrogen ‘backbone’ for the UK by the early 2030s. If successful, this re-purposing approach will be five times more cost-effective than building a completely new system.
Gas networks are already exploring hydrogen as an alternative energy source. The HyDeploy trials have proved that hydrogen blends of up to 20% can be safely blended into the existing gas network without replacing pipes or appliances.
Xoserve is proud to support the Hydrogen for Heating trials, with the first domestic heating trial at H100 Fife in 2024 and then the planned Hydrogen Village in 2025. The information gathered will provide essential data and evidence to support the Government’s decision on whether hydrogen could support domestic heating, which is expected to be made in 2026.
Natural gas in a new low-carbon energy market
Although a low-carbon energy system is irrefutable, the timeframe and route for achieving this is still up for debate. In the short term, it’s not about gas versus electrification, but a discussion on how to best combine a range of technologies to meet our upcoming energy demands.
Low carbon gas, such as hydrogen, will likely have a crucial role in achieving net zero. A smart combination of gas and electricity developed from existing infrastructure will minimise consumer disruption, reduce unnecessary expenditure at the expense of the customer, making it a pragmatic solution for a successful transition.
Should hydrogen form part of the energy transition, then developing a new hydrogen market will be essential – the question is, what would that model look like? Perhaps most importantly, how can the risk of volatility be reduced to minimise the threat of reliving another energy crisis?
The energy industry and policymakers need to start asking difficult questions about the practicalities of decommissioning gas networks or upgrading electricity infrastructure to support any proposed changes. Whichever route is taken to decarbonising current gas demand, it will need to replace the 738TW of energy that natural gas produces on an annual basis, and one thing is certain: there isn’t a one-fuel solution for reaching net zero.
