Ofgem has unveiled £95.3mn in funding for 10 “trailblazing projects” that will help to push the UK forwards in its drive for decarbonised and affordable energy.
Notably almost half (£49.1mn) of the funding, which comes from Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF), is going towards projects exploring hydrogen related technologies. This includes £33.3mn to support National Gas Transmission’s efforts to explore compression of hydrogen for use in energy networks. This project will test repurposing of existing compression equipment, seeking to determine whether or not it could be used for 100% hydrogen transmission.
National Gas is also leading on a project that will investigate the blending of hydrogen for heavy transport refuelling stations into the gas network, with £9.9mn awarded in support.
All projects awarded funding have already carried out earlier feasibility study and proof of concept work. It is the final stage of the SIF process but the funding will still be provided incrementally, subject to key milestones being met.
Deputy Directory of the Ofgem SIF programme at Innovate UK, Matt Hastings, said: “It is exciting to see these Beta projects, after showing their potential, moving on to demonstrate their energy innovations in the real world. Net zero is the most urgent issue of our lifetime, and the SIF and the energy networks have moved fast to develop these ideas into large-scale demonstrators in less than 18 months from initial proposals.”
