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Shortlisted proposal would see UK village swap from natural gas to hydrogen in 2025

In November 2020 the UK Government set out its Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution which included the ambition to support a ‘Village Trial’ of 100% Hydrogen for use in home heating to commence in 2025. The overall contract for the Village sits with Cadent.

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Cadent has proposed to bring the first ever UK Hydrogen Village project to Whitby in Ellesmere Port from 2025. Its programme proposal is one of two shortlisted by the UK Government with a final decision on where the Hydrogen Village project will take place expected to be made next year

Kent, a leading engineering company in oil and gas and Hydrogen (H2) technologies, has been appointed as the FEED Contractor for aspects of hydrogen supply and resilience for Cadent’s UK Hydrogen Village project. Kent has been involved in over fifty hydrogen projects worldwide and is an engineering partner at HyNet (NW England).

Progressive Energy Limited (PEL) has appointed Kent to develop a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) to deliver hydrogen at the correct specification and availability.

Milestone project

The primary purpose of the Hydrogen Village project is to demonstrate how to facilitate the decarbonisation of home and commercial heating by replacing domestic natural gas supply with hydrogen using existing local gas pipes.

Hydrogen demonstration projects, such as the proposed programme in Whitby, Ellesmere Port, are part of the plan to reduce household and commercial CO₂ emissions to reach the UK’s 2050 net zero targets. Kent’s scope of work for this project will include:

  • Develop the FEED design for a Hydrogen Supply compound, which will handle Hydrogen before it is injected into a pipeline to supply Whitby Village in Ellesmere Port.
  • Provide sufficient Hydrogen buffer storage to meet intraday design peak and comply with all Safety regulations.
  • Develop FEED design for supporting infrastructure and utilities, ensuring the required resilience of the Hydrogen supply to Whitby.

Matt Wills, market director, Low Carbon, and Onshore Projects at Kent, said, “This win is a testament to the fantastic work we have been doing on Hydrogen projects in the UK.

“We look forward to continuing our working relationship with PEL having worked with them on HyNet for several years. It is a milestone project which, if it progresses to the next stage, will demonstrate how the rest of the UK could decarbonise heating and cooking in homes.”