The reality of hydrogen for homes
The latest front in the battle on climate misinformation is likely to be around the hydrogen for home heating debate.
The hydrogen industry has developed code for describing how hydrogen is created, but there are significant environmental concerns for how it is produced.
"Grey hydrogen" means reforming fossil fuel gas which you can then turn into "blue hydrogen" by offsetting the emissions through carbon capture and storage (or create "turquoise hydrogen" which forms a coal type dust).
The approach often referred to as "green hydrogen" uses electricity to create the new fuel. However, even this can be energy intensive, inefficient and costly and at present relies on electricity created by gas-fired power stations.
This means that the UK will either have to continue to import huge volumes of gas at international prices or require extensive additional renewable electricity. At the moment, this risks diverting renewable electricity from other uses or could mean that fossil fuel-based electricity is used instead.
Estimates suggest that until around 2030, hydrogen production using electricity would require a mix of sources and therefore result in higher carbon emissions than using conventional fossil gas boilers, according to David Cebon, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Cambridge University and a member of the Hydrogen Science Coalition.
No one doubts that once renewable energy supplies in the UK have increased that hydrogen produced by this method could help decarbonise heavy industry, but the use of hydrogen for homes is an expensive distraction. It risks the creation of serious delays to the roll out of cheaper alternatives, such as heat pumps, and risks being used as a method to keep the UK hooked on fossil fuel infrastructure longer than needed.
It could also actually make life a lot worse for vulnerable households.
Hydrogen is four times more explosive and four times more likely to result in a fatality or injury in homes than fossil gas – as shown by the Government’s own commissioned safety assessment.
It is also significantly more expensive than using fossil gas for heating and could add on average 70% to heating bills from 2025 for both electricity and fossil fuel-based hydrogen, according to a study by Cornwall Insight.
Government plans to impose a hydrogen levy on customers’ bills to pay for hydrogen development will add to people's bills. In addition, home appliances will also have to be changed to accept this new fuel and cautious estimates suggest it would cost approximately £171 billion to convert appliances and infrastructure to hydrogen across the UK.
The public are rightly nervous about such costs.
It is also harmful to health. Hydrogen produces dangerous nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions when burned in people's home appliances, which can have serious health impacts. Even short-term exposure can cause inflammation of the airways and increase vulnerability to respiratory infections and allergens. Asthma + Lung UK warn that it can worsen the symptoms of people with existing lung problems and could lead to children developing asthma, while other vulnerable groups, such as those with heart conditions, may also suffer.
