National Gas secures additional £107m funding for UK hydrogen pipeline network

THE UK’s gas transmission operator has secured £107m (US$141m) of public funding from energy regulator Ofgem for a major project to repurpose natural gas pipelines for hydrogen transmission.

The new commitment brings total publicly funded investment in National Gas’s “Project Union” to £164m since June and advances more than half of the proposed network into the front-end engineering and design (FEED) stage.

Through Project Union, National Gas is planning to repurpose over 2,400 km of the UK’s 8,000 km natural gas transmission network into pipelines suitable to carry hydrogen, with the aim of connecting planned hydrogen production sites with industrial users around the country. The project will also require the construction of new sections of pipeline.

The first part of the “core” hydrogen network will connect the St Fergus gas terminal, the site of a planned hydrogen production plant, in northeast Scotland to the Grangemouth industrial cluster near Edinburgh. From Grangemouth, the network will split into two branches: one linking to the Teesside and Humber industrial clusters in northeast England and another connecting to HyNet in the northwest. Ofgem has already confirmed £57m of FEED funding for the Teesside–Humber link, while the latest commitment covers the St Fergus–Teesside and northwest routes.

Ian Radley, chief commercial officer at National Gas, said the funding was a “hugely significant moment for Britain’s hydrogen journey”.

Radley added: “Hydrogen will sit alongside electrification as a vital part of a cleaner, more resilient energy system – and this funding shows that future becoming a reality.”

National Gas is also planning to expand the network to industrial clusters in Milford Haven in south Wales and Southampton, Bacton and Isle of Grain in southeast England. The company aims for full completion of the project in the mid-2030s.

Brett Ryan, head of policy and analysis at industry group Hydrogen UK, said the latest funding was “excellent news”. He added: “The funding underscores the crucial role hydrogen will play in the UK’s energy mix and in delivering economic growth across the country.

“We look forward to seeing the projects develop and showcase hydrogen’s potential for supporting UK energy infrastructure.”