Knapton H2 Storage is a consortium led by gas distributor Northern Gas Networks and partnered with BGS, Centrica Energy Storage, Third Energy Onshore and the University of Edinburgh. The consortium has been awarded ‘Discovery’ funding by Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to undertake a new study to evaluate geological storage potential in the Knapton area, North Yorkshire. The Ofgem SIF funding is designed to drive innovation in energy networks as part of the ‘Revenue = incentives + innovation + outputs’ (RIIO-2) price control for gas and electricity networks.

Energy storage and backup power will become increasingly important as the UK increases the amount of renewable energy supplying electricity. This study is the first of its kind in the region and will undertake a feasibility assessment of the area geology to host energy storage technologies, allowing for the decarbonisation of adjacent gas-fired peaking power plants (those that only run when there is high demand) such as that at Knapton.

The Knapton, Vale of Pickering and North Yorkshire area hosts a fantastic diversity of geology that may be used for storing hydrogen. The region contains numerous depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs that may have potential for repurposing, alongside other porous rock aquifers, salt deposits and rocks that may support lined rock shafts. The study will generate an understanding of what is possible for hydrogen storage at scale in the local area, supporting the area local economy and the UK energy security.

The natural geology of the area around Knapton will play an important role in supporting the use of hydrogen in the region. Storing hydrogen gives flexibility to the energy system, allowing excess hydrogen to be stored for use during periods when demand exceeds supply. In this project, BGS will build on its extensive laboratory and mapping programmes to help identify areas of the underground geology that may represent future exploration targets for hydrogen storage in bedrock.

Edward Hough, research lead in underground energy storage at BGS.

As more renewables come online, energy storage will be critical to UK energy security and to clean power. Understanding the full potential for storing hydrogen at scale through Knapton H2 Storage will give us key insights into how we can deliver technologies to provide clean resilience on the days where the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow.

Keith Owen, head of energy futures at Northern Gas Networks.

Centrica Knapton site is being redeveloped as a multi-vector energy hub for solar generation, green hydrogen production and battery storage. But without dedicated hydrogen storage, its ability to support seasonal balancing, system resilience and flexible dispatch (H2P) will be fundamentally constrained. This project will advance integration readiness at Knapton and commercial readiness of storage technologies, whilst unlocking a replicable model for medium- to large-scale hydrogen storage to support H2P roll-out and network resilience.

Chris McClane, energy transition interface manager at Centrica.

The hydrogen economy involves using hydrogen to decarbonise economic sectors that are hard to electrify, such as cement, steel and long-haul transport. It can be powered using water, where combustion only releases water vapour into the atmosphere.

UK aims for the hydrogen economy

The UK is currently attempting to expand its hydrogen economy to meet its target of producing 5 GW of green hydrogen capacity by 2030. The scoping report highlights that with 14 GW of capacity already in the pipeline, proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis is assumed to account for 70 per cent of the UK green hydrogen production. This has led to an increase in demand for electrolysers, which are used to produce hydrogen through electrolysis by separating the molecules in water into hydrogen and oxygen.

Unsustainable metal demand projections

The electrolysers in PEM electrolysis tend to use critical materials, namely platinum and iridium, for their cathodes and anodes. Given the targets the UK has set for establishing a hydrogen economy, the report finds that 700 to 2000 kilograms of platinum and 1925 to 5500 kilograms of iridium are required. Under current metal loadings, this is unsustainable and means a heavy reliance on imports from South Africa, which has high concentrations of these metals.

Suggestions to address the materials supply challenges

According to the report, heavy dependency on imports presents supply chain risks and constraints, in addition to potential price volatility and logistical disruption in times of geopolitical crises. However, the report outlines some suggestions to mitigate against these issues, such as:

• collaborations between industry and government
• strategic partnerships with key producing nations to try and diversify and secure supply chains
• technology development to reduce the quantity of materials needed
• identifying less-critical substitutes

Finally, the report identifies recycling as an increasingly important source of metal supply. Iridium would benefit most from this development, as it currently has very little input from open-loop recycling.

Further information

.