Northern Gas Networks is the gas distributor for the North East and parts of Cumbria and Yorkshire. The initiative would involve changing the gas supplied through our pipes from the natural gas supplied today, to hydrogen.
This is because hydrogen can be used in the same way as natural gas but it doesn’t create carbon when burned, meaning it could be compatible with future targets to tackle climate change.
We were invited to submit plans to create a hydrogen village by the Government and you can find out more about why a hydrogen conversion is being explored on the Government website
We have now submitted our detailed proposal to the Government and our regulator, Ofgem and will find later in 2023 whether the project will go ahead.
If the proposal is given the go ahead, we would need to install new hydrogen appliances in the place of any current gas appliances including boilers, fires and cookers in the homes and businesses within the Redcar Hydrogen Community. This would be at no cost to customers. See our customer information section for more information.
Along with the other gas distribution network companies, we were invited to submit a location for a conversion to the gas network to hydrogen from 2025. We selected Redcar because there are already commitments to produce hydrogen in the area and it makes sense that the communities located closest to the production are the first to use it.
The government has highlighted that the UK’s hydrogen economy could be worth £900 million by 2030 and create as many as 12,000 jobs, so hydrogen could represent a great opportunity for Redcar and the local area.
The team at Northern Gas Networks is really excited to be working in Redcar with residents and businesses as the project progresses.