EU Clean Hydrogen Alliance Publishes Report on H2 Readiness of the Building Sector

Based on the work of its Building Roundtable, the EU Clean Hydrogen Alliance published its “Report on hydrogen-readiness of gaseous fuels distribution infrastructure and heating technologies in Europe”. 

The report provides an overview of the hydrogen-readiness of the building sector, including the delivery gas distribution system and heating appliances.  

Conclusions of the report are clear: Hydrogen in buildings is possible, is a reality and is part of a broader solution. Cost analysis show that with around 40% of houses already connected to gas infrastructure for heating purposes, using existing infrastructure to supply hydrogen could save 41 Bn EUR per year compared to a power-dominated scenario.  

The report includes Ready4H2 research results that show that a portion of the building sector will need hydrogen to decarbonise, and that the gas distribution grid operators are able to deliver the hydrogen required. Several projects by Ready4H2 members are already underway to prove the feasibility of this, by repurposing existing gas grids or building new hydrogen-dedicated grids. HyDeploy (Cadent, UK), H21 (Cadent, UK) and Wasserstoff-Insel Öhringen (Netze BW, DE) are demonstrating that hydrogen supplied via an existing natural gas distribution grid is feasible; the projects Lochem H2 (Alliander, NL), Haringvliet’s City natural gas-free (Stedin, NL) and H2Direkt (Thuega, DE) are showcasing the feasibility of hydrogen in residential heating. See video of the field visits here.