National Gas is at the forefront of efforts to deliver energy security and build a clean energy future for the UK. Natural gas and low-carbon gases such as hydrogen, alongside Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), will play an important role in the UK’s transition to a sustainable, net-zero energy system. 

As a nation, we use natural gas for power generation, as a fuel for industrial processes, for storing large volumes of energy, and for heating businesses and homes. During the transition to net zero, natural gas will have a central role to play in providing flexible and secure energy to complement renewable energy production.

The role of natural gas and CCS in the energy transition: security and stability

The amount of unabated natural gas used in the UK will decline as we move towards net zero. It will gradually be replaced by new technologies, such as hydrogen and natural gas with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) – also known as Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS).

 But gas will remain a core part of our energy system up to 2050 and beyond – ensuring security of supply on the path towards net zero. The National Transmission System (NTS) delivers 99% of gas today and will continue to deliver gas to customers throughout Great Britain. As demand for natural gas reduces, it will be possible to repurpose parts of the NTS to transport hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2) for CCS.

The role of hydrogen: low-carbon energy for the future

While the demand for gas will continue, this gas will need to be low carbon. The Climate Change Committee expects low-carbon hydrogen to supply around 20-35% of our total energy needs by 2050. It will fuel the sectors that currently use natural gas and cannot electrify, such as energy-intensive industry, as well as providing low-carbon energy for shipping and aviation, and for long duration energy storage (LDES). It will also support flexible net zero electricity generation at hydrogen power stations, which will operate in the same way as natural gas power stations today.

 The Climate Change Committee and National Infrastructure Commission have both outlined the requirements for a core hydrogen transmission network – a backbone to transport hydrogen throughout Great Britain. National Gas has exciting ambitions to take on the role of transporting hydrogen across the country. While maintaining the NTS for natural gas, we will create a similar network to deliver hydrogen at volume and speed across the country. This new hydrogen backbone, will comprise approximately 1,500 miles of pipes, created largely by repurposing existing assets, as well as building some new pipelines where needed. All the while, we will maintain the network to ensure secure supplies of natural gas.

This transmission network will initially link strategic hydrogen production sites, including industrial clusters, to power stations and storage sites across the UK by the mid-2030s, and offer the option to expand beyond this network in future. 

The role of blending: building a hydrogen economy

Alongside the new hydrogen backbone, we are looking at the potential to blend hydrogen into the existing natural gas network. Blending is the first step in building the hydrogen economy. We are advocating a twin-track approach – repurposing parts of the network to 100% hydrogen while blending hydrogen with natural gas across the entire network. 

Our FutureGrid programme is working to assess the blending of hydrogen with natural gas in the existing National Transmission System. We have built a world-first high-pressure hydrogen test facility at DNV Spadeadam, using recently decommissioned transmission assets. It has proved that the NTS can transport hydrogen safely and reliably at blends of 2%, 5%, 20% and 100%.