Heating Analysis – IEA

Hydrogen is scarcely used in the global buildings sector, although low-carbon hydrogen-based solutions are being tested. A number of challenges, including efficiency losses relative to other low-carbon alternatives, safety considerations, the cost of grid retrofits, and zero-carbon hydrogen production capacity still need to be investigated.

In Japan, the number of ENE-FARM hydrogen-ready fuel cells deployed annually remains steady, with a cumulative 350 000 units installed at the end of March 2021.

In Europe, the ene.field demonstration, launched in 2012, has installed more than 1 000 small stationary fuel-cell systems for residential and commercial buildings in ten countries. Another project is the H21 demonstration in the United Kingdom, which will demonstrate the potential for direct hydrogen use to reduce the carbon intensity of heat demand using steam methane reformers with CCS.

The Sustainable Gas Institute of Imperial College London develops analyses to improve understanding of the role of gas in future low-carbon energy systems. In addition, the UK Hy4Heat project, which is also evaluating hydrogen potential for heating and covers all stages from appliance certification and quality standards to demonstration, is set to be launched in the second quarter of 2020.

Government-supported hydrogen-blending demonstration projects injecting low-carbon hydrogen into a local gas network are emerging in several cities, including Dunkirk (France) and Adelaide (Australia). The first injections, using a 6% hydrogen blend (by volume), were realised in June 2018, and further blends of up to 20% will be tested, depending on the price of renewable electricity.

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Heating Analysis - IEA