| dc.description.abstract | In the Netherlands 82% of the households are connected to the gas network. Consequently, 42% of the direct energy use of a household is provided by natural gas which translates into 39% of the total CO2 emissions of a household. In line with the climate goals the Dutch government has proposed that in 2050 no household will use natural gas anymore. Hydrogen is proposed as a substitute since it can be distributed in the current gas network, it can be produced by a low-carbon route and it can be stored on a large scale.
Converting the complete network to hydrogen would not be energy efficient since green hydrogen needs to be produced by electrolyzing water with the use of electricity. This electricity could also be used directly in households. A mix of hydrogen and electricity makes sure that there is a higher energy efficiency due to electrification and that the intermittency of renewable electricity production can be dealt with by means of hydrogen storage.
Three renewable energy scenarios, local, national and international, for the Netherlands are used as input to calculate the hydrogen demand for Groningen in 2050. To use (part of) the current gas assets to distribute hydrogen, the network was divided into gas clusters based on the main distribution pipelines. These clusters are by means of a multi-criteria analysis ranked on the best options for either hydrogen or all-electric based on five parameters which are related to the supply area, the energy label, the type of building, monuments and possible congestion of the electricity network.
Based on the hydrogen demand per scenario, the gas distribution potential, and the ranking, three configurations of the network were developed. Since the local scenario is mainly based on a self-sufficient and decentralised approach this is not in line with a more centralised conversion of the gas network. Therefore, it is expected that the network would more likely evolve like the national or international scenario. In these scenarios between 35 and 40% of the gas assets will be converted to hydrogen. This implies that a big portion of the gas assets will be depreciated, and that the electricity infrastructure needs a significant investment.
Further research is needed to show how the clusters can be converted over time, the resulting costs and the different roles of the stakeholders in such an extensive project. | |
