On the site of an old leisure centre, a U-shaped trio of temporary offices sit alongside a neat lawn and fledgling shrubs. Named the “hydrogen experience centre”, this unassuming place is at the heart of a testy tussle that could have implications for how homes across the country are heated.
The site, in the village of Whitby, just outside Ellesmere Port on the south bank of the Mersey, could become the UK’s first “hydrogen village”. It is being analysed, along with Redcar in the north-east, for potential conversion to 100% hydrogen heating, using the existing gas network and new appliances to update up to 2,000 properties.
The government will make a final decision on which village will take part in a two-year pilot by next year. Hydrogen is seen by some as the ideal fuel to replace natural gas in homes and help Britain hit its climate targets. It can be produced through various methods, including using electrolysis to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. It is colourless and odourless, meaning an odour would need to be added to help detect leaks.
A decision on whether to use hydrogen in the gas network at a wider scale is due in 2026. It will come a year after a ban on gas boilers in new homes comes into force in 2025, although uncertainty remains over the timeframe for the phase-out of natural gas in existing homes.
However, there are concerns about the practicality of using hydrogen and the resulting cost to residents. Some people fear they are at risk of becoming unwilling “lab rats” for a technology that never takes off.
Proponents of hydrogen in homes argue that it will cause less disruption than heat pumps – its main competition – in replacing natural gas, given it would use existing pipes. Critics say that while hydrogen will be important in decarbonising heavy industry, there are safety issues such as leakage and making pipes brittle. They also say hydrogen is less efficient and more expensive than alternatives such as heat pumps, electric boilers and district heating – and will be difficult to manufacture in the quantities needed to supply households en masse. In reality, a combination of all options may end up being used.
Gas companies are funding a considerable lobbying effort in favour of using hydrogen in homes. Last month the industry launched the “Hello Hydrogen” campaign to raise awareness and called on government to “commit to a hydrogen future”. It is funded by gas network operators including Cadent and Northern Gas Networks (NGN); the boiler manufacturers Baxi and Vaillant; the supplier British Gas; and Ryze Hydrogen, the company founded by Jo Bamford, son of the billionaire Conservative donor Anthony Bamford.
The pilot in Whitby or Redcar is not connected to that campaign, but could offer vindication for their efforts, or undermine them.
Costs on the rise
The proposal for Whitby to become a hydrogen test site – which is being presented by Cheshire West and Chester council, Cadent and British Gas – would give residents the choice of hydrogen or electric alternatives. The cost of new appliances and installation would be covered and the hydrogen would be subsidised to cost the same as natural gas for two years.
But those who opt out of the hydrogen trial would not be able to stay on gas. Cadent has said it would consider subsidising their electricity – which is typically more expensive than using gas – but it is yet to commit to this. At the end of the pilot, if the decision is made to revert to natural gas, Cadent will cover the costs.
“We’re being forced to take either hydrogen or an electric alternative if the pilot proceeds. There is no choice not to be part of it,” says John Roach, a retired housing manager who has been convening residents to debate the project.
“My main concerns are financial: they’re subsidising the hydrogen for two years, but not beyond that. Local boiler engineers have told us they’re not going to bother getting trained up for a small area. So boiler and appliance maintenance and repair is going to be more expensive or hard to find. We’ll be trapped. If we’re the only game in town, how easy will it be to get a replacement?”
Kate Grannell, another resident, says: “No one is questioning that we need to move away from natural gas but what many of us are saying is, experts know that hydrogen is not the long-term replacement for home heating. I will not be letting the emperor sell me his new clothes.”
Angela Needle, a strategy director at Cadent, says: “This project has come about because the UK needs to find solutions to decarbonise how we heat our homes in the future. Electric heat pumps and district heating have been put forward as proposed solutions but these may not fit into every home in a cost-effective way.”
Uncertainty about supplies
Cadent had envisioned that the village pilot would follow on from the H100 project, a similar hydrogen initiative in Fife, where new pipes are being laid to heat 300 homes for residents who voluntarily sign up. However, the Guardian revealed that the four-year project in Scotland, due to start next year, faced delays, increasing the likelihood of the projects running simultaneously.
Literature distributed to residents says Whitby has been put forward because of its proximity to Stanlow, the oil refinery complex and the site of the HyNet hydrogen production plant project to decarbonise the area’s industrial heartland. This year auditors raised concerns about the financial health of Essar Oil (UK), which owns Stanlow. Since the initiative was announced, new proposals to supply “green” hydrogen – which is created using renewable electricity – powered by the Frodsham windfarm have emerged.
Cadent now admits that the HyNet “facility will not be making hydrogen in timescales required by government for the project” and it is examining other sources. Its ambition is to run the scheme on green or “low-carbon” hydrogen.
Those pushing for Whitby to be selected for the trial say it is the right size, representative of a typical village, and the scheme could create local jobs.
Meanwhile, Redcar was put forward due to its proximity to Teesside, where BP is building a large-scale green hydrogen production facility.
The energy consultancy Cornwall Insight forecasts that green hydrogen would cost consumers £137 a year more in 2025, peaking at £393 in 2030 before later falling.
‘Lambs to the slaughter’
Ofgem has provided £9.1m for two detailed design studies to forecast the cost. Officials have asked the gas networks Cadent and NGN to fund 10% of the project, with the government and Ofgem covering the remaining costs.
Keith Lewington is a retired project manager in the pensions industry who moved to Whitby 39 years ago while working as an avionics technician in the Royal Air Force. “Our private residences were put up like lambs to the slaughter for this and we have no way out,” he says. “Our choice is hydrogen or going electric. In both cases, it’s going to cost people more money. I feel utterly let down.”
Lewington has written to the Association of British Insurers to find out whether home insurance will be valid. A woman who has just moved to the area with her family told a local Facebook group that she was unaware of the proposals.
Justin Madders, the Labour MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston, said in parliament in May that residents could be “at the spearhead of a new way of heating our homes” and backed the “exciting project”. He told the Guardian: “It’s important that there is clear and impartial information given to residents about what this trial might mean for them. It’s also important that this only proceeds with public support, and I want to work with residents.”
Madders claims that Cadent originally said residents would have the choice to remain using natural gas. Cadent denies this. The MP has asked Cadent to agree to an independent poll of residents on the scheme. Cadent has refused to commit to this, saying it is already engaging with the community and has visited more than 1,000 homes.
