We’re committed to reducing emissions from the operation of the National Transmission System (NTS) and transitioning our network to carry hydrogen provides an opportunity to do so.

On the network we have above-ground assets which currently use methane as well as other fossil fuels for their operation, and therefore produce carbon emissions.

Across the industry, innovative hydrogen production technologies are in development which create hydrogen from methane. These technologies could enable demonstration and implementation of hydrogen as a fuel gas and provide the opportunity to reduce our emissions before the full transition to hydrogen.

In October 2022, we started a project to investigate these production technologies. With support from the National Gas Engineering and Operations teams, we looked at the characteristics of each technology, to understand the potential use cases and on-site suitability of each. This also helped us understand any potential limitations.

We conducted a comprehensive feasibility review of three of our compressor sites, to explore the possibility of using one as the location for a Hydrogen Production Unit. This involved taking into consideration competing construction projects, any safety aspects and the proximity of buildings and other site assets.

The outputs from this project developed a shortlist of hydrogen production technologies for further exploration as part of a potential future project phase.