Thursday 24 February 2022

Wales installs ‘world first’ hydrogen hybrid boiler

A commercial building at the Port of Milford Haven in Wales has become home to what is touted as the world's first smart hydrogen hybrid heating system.

The project consists of a hydrogen-fuelled boiler and an electric air-source heat pump.

These two technologies are controlled through a smart control system.

The technology can be really smart as every two minutes the system assesses Britain's energy generation mix and the availability of renewable electricity on the local grid.

It then requests the boiler to run on hydrogen when there is not enough renewable electricity.

The trial was launched by a group of partners, including Port of Milford Haven, Passiv UK, Wales & West Utilities, Kiwa UK, Worcester Bosch, Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, and Pembrokeshire County Council.

Matt Hindle, Head of Net Zero and Sustainability at Wales & West Utilities, said: “Hybrid heating systems can be easily retrofitted to existing housing stock, without costly changes to radiators or internal pipework, keeping disruption to homes and communities to a minimum.

"This trial has demonstrated how they can work with hydrogen in place of natural gas.”

Councillor Cris Tomos, Pembrokeshire County Council Cabinet Member for the Environment, Welsh Language and Public Protection, said: "The projects heating and transport demonstrators demonstrate what can be achieved through collaboration with our partners and Pembrokeshire can use these innovations as we work to become a net zero carbon authority by 2030.”

In its recent Heat and Buildings Strategy, the government outlined its ambition to phase out the installation of new natural gas boilers beyond 2035.