Burning hydrogen instead of natural gas for heating would prove an extremely efficient way to reduce the United Kingdom’s emissions, but only if carbon capture and storage is implemented at the hydrogen production facilities, according to Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage’s response to Northern Gas Works’ H21 Leeds City Gate report, released Monday. “[A]s the report points out, generating hydrogen from fossil fuels would require that the CO2 generated during this process be securely stored, in order for the hydrogen to be truly low carbon,” an SCCS release explains.
The Northern Gas Works report, which determined that it is feasible to transform the existing natural gas network in Leeds to 100 percent hydrogen, notes specifically Air Products’ Port Arthur, Texas, carbon capture demonstration project as proof of the viability of capturing carbon from facilities similar to those that would be needed to produce the hydrogen necessary for the heating transition. “Carbon capture and storage technology is well established alongside [steam methane reformer] operations. An example of which can be seen in the Port Arthur SMR plants operated by Air Products in the USA,” the report says.
