A techno-economic assessment of the viability of using electrolysis waste heat for district heating

There is a high anticipation for hydrogen in the UK, with the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy projecting it could represent 20-35% of UK final energy consumption by 2050. Increasing electrolytic hydrogen production is considered vital, since it is the only method which can achieve production without carbon emissions. Up from les than 1 TWh in 2023, National Grid ESO features a minimum of 111 TWh of annual electrolytic hydrogen production by 2050 in each of its Future Energy Scenarios that involve the UK achieving its Net Zero 2050 target.

Yet the challenge for the expansion of electrolytic hydrogen production is its high-cost relative to other methods such as Steam Methane Reformation or its equivalent with Carbon Capture and Storage. This thesis explores a potential solution: the sale of waste heat produced during electrolysis to district heat networks. These networks currently supply ~2% of UK heat but could supply 18% by 2050 according to the Climate Change Committee – a huge potential demand sink. The implication is a net benefit from heat sales would represent a net deduction on the total cost of electrolytic hydrogen production, improving its overall economics and so potentially stimulating the investment in electrolysers required for the UK to achieve its targets for hydrogen and Net Zero.

This presentation outlines the key research findings, which focused on measuring the techno-economic viability of heat sales to heat networks for Alkaline and Proton Exchange Membrane electrolysers. Utilising levelized cost modelling techniques, this research sought to integrate the levelized cost of hydrogen with the discounted net benefit from heat sales. Pursuing extensive sensitivity analysis, this research aimed to account for wide ranging electrolyser operator circumstances and deliver a bolstered evidence base for future commercial speculation into the integration of electrolysers with district heat networks.

Biography:
Ewan Steen is a current MSc Environmental Technology student at Imperial College London, specialising in Energy Policy. Alongside his studies, he has been working as a Consultant for Cirrus Nexus, a company that specialises in data centre sustainability. He has also just completed a 3-month Energy Consulting summer placement at Guidehouse, where he worked on a 2040 Decarbonisation Pathway Modelling Project for National Gas Transmission, and a Scottish Whole Systems Modelling project for National Gas Transmission and Scotia Gas Networks (SGN). Before transitioning into sustainable energy, Ewan previously completed a bachelor’s degree in geography, and worked in education including completion of the Teach First Programme.

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