Building the hydrogen future of Wales and beyond

RenewableUK – the UK’s largest renewable energy trade association – speaks to Guto Owen about the current and future development of hydrogen in Wales and how skills can be transferred from traditional energy industries to support growth.

Hydrogen is often heralded as the renewable fuel of the future. Why? Because it is the ultimate solution to green energy in its production and application across industries.

Current plans have established a target of 5GW of low carbon hydrogen capacity by 2030, which would power approximately 3 million UK homes each year, in addition to supporting transport and heavy industry. As is true throughout the renewable energy sector, the potential for thousands of new jobs and various export opportunities in hydrogen production makes it an attractive area for government investment. In Wales, the situation appears ripe for the picking, as Guto Owen – co-ordinator of HyCymru, the Wales Hydrogen Trade Association, and Director of Ynni Glân, a fuel cells and hydrogen consultancy – comments:

“Wales is essentially a microcosm for the global hydrogen industry. We have domestic energy sources, especially large-scale offshore wind from our shared resource with Ireland, and markets for everything from industry to transport to heating and power, with associated infrastructure to connect it all. As such, it is possible to deploy and develop technologies and strategies in Wales that can be scaled up for other countries and markets. We’ve made progress and there is much to learn from and co-operate with other countries to design our approach in the future. We can also connect to the worldwide hydrogen economy through Milford Haven, the UK’s largest energy port.”

Milford Haven: Energy Kingdom (MH:EK) is an innovative project designed to explore the realistic possibilities for a decarbonised, smart local energy system. With collaboration between solar, onshore wind, offshore wind and biomass energy solutions, it is looking to develop efficiencies with local community and industry. A global trailblazer, the project incorporates hydrogen-ready technologies in housing and commercial buildings, alongside intelligent hybrid heating systems, hydrogen-fuelled cars and a flexible trading platform that lowers costs.

Most recently, RWE announced a project to build further on the potential for hydrogen linking to the floating offshore wind sites in the Celtic Sea. The organisation has been investigating opportunities for the production and supply of green hydrogen at the Pembroke Power Station with the installation of a 100MW electrolyser. This would push boundaries within the sector on several fronts, given the size of the technology and the potential to supercharge green hydrogen production for a local network. As the survey is forecast to run until March 2022, the soon expected results could be the start of some interesting conversations in the area.

Also in progress elsewhere in Wales is a feasibility study for a hydrogen hub at Holyhead, including a hydrogen production plant and fuelling/distribution centre led by community enterprise Menter Môn. Findings so far suggest potential to cater for local heavy transport businesses at a supply rate of over 400kg/day by 2022/23, with the opportunity to expand over

time. A 1-2MW pilot project has been designed at Parc Cybi to test the realities of a hydrogen hub, which will explore scale-up opportunities and connection with other emerging projects in Wales, Ireland and the UK.

Though Wales is clearly well-positioned for growth in hydrogen production and processing, there are still challenges that need to be overcome and which can support Welsh Government objectives, as Guto goes on to explore:

“When it comes to building a workforce for the future of hydrogen, we have to consider whether there are enough people with the right skills to fulfil the necessary roles. Where specific knowledge or capabilities are lacking, we need to ensure that provision of training or retraining is ready to prevent a skills gap from hindering rapid market growth. This will require collaboration between colleges and education providers, in partnership with governments and companies directly. We ned a clear strategy and structured pathways for personal development so that individuals can build a successful, well-paid career while supporting the future of the industry and strengthening the global economy. What’s more, all this needs to be done quickly – we don’t want students graduating with skills for industries that are dying out. Instead, we need to be ahead of the curve and educating a workforce for the needs of businesses and sectors are emerging.

“The second major challenge we need to consider is the off-taking situation. Markets must be established for the hydrogen produced and we need to ensure that the sector is as competitive as possible. Costs are becoming favourable, especially given the recent price rises in traditional fuel sources like oil and gas, but there is still scope to scale up and reduce costs further. This applies in Wales and the rest of the UK, as well as around the globe.

“Finally, a supportive regulatory framework would be very beneficial to Wales. This would get us ahead of the game by nurturing and attracting business and investment which can support the Welsh Government’s decarbonisation ambitions but also as a platform for export growth.”

The hydrogen market remains promising given its potential to rapidly decarbonise many sectors across the global economy. Guto considers the benefits that the industry could bring to Wales in the near and long-term future:

“It’s now recognised that you cannot decarbonise national economies without hydrogen. Green hydrogen is particularly attractive as it provides an option of purely renewable energy production. In Wales, we can produce a lot of green hydrogen for our internal markets. But there is also potential to share exports, especially in partnership with Ireland, with the rest of the UK and European markets too, opening up new opportunities for income and trade for many years to come.”

There are many industries that could benefit from green hydrogen, though it is difficult as of yet to predict which will scale-up first. Heavy transport is likely to be among the first to transition, with others such as industry, power and heating looking to make the change in the coming years too. The speed of the transition will depend largely on the cost-competitiveness of green hydrogen, its availability and reliability as the sector grows.

For more information about HyCymru, please visit https://hydrogenh2.cymru

Read the latest issue of the OGV Energy magazine HERE