World’s first 100% green hydrogen network in Fife

£2.8m funding bid in works as Levenmouth selected to host pioneering scheme

Fife has been selected to play host to the world’s first 100% green hydrogen network in a move which could see Scotland’s east coast spearhead a zerocarbon energy revolution.

Gas company SGN has asked energy regulator Ofgem to rubberstamp plans for its H100Fife project in Methil, which would initially serve 300 homes across Levenmouth, with hydrogen to replace natural gas as a green alternative for heating and cooking.

Offshore wind would be used to generate electricity required to create the hydrogen from water through electrolysis, and homeowners would have the option of receiving their existing gas supply or the hydrogen alternative through a network of new pipes to be laid alongside 1,000 properties.

A bid for £2.8 million funding will be submitted to Ofgem this summer and if successful, work will begin at Fife Energy Park later this year.

Homes in the project’s initial phase could then be powered by hydrogen “within two to three years”, with scope for the network to be significantly expanded in the years that follow.

Angus McIntosh, director of energy futures at SGN, said: “Hydrogen is an exciting energy vector that, at scale, could provide similar levels of safe, secure, reliable and affordable energy to what we enjoy now, with minimal disruption for customers.

“The project will provide key national evidence for hydrogen’s role in the UK’s energy transition and critical insight into the customer value proposition of hydrogen for heat.”

It is hoped the H100Fife scheme can tap into the east coast’s energy engineering and offshore expertise to create more networks in the area, as well as hundreds of jobs.

The proposed hydrogen production, storage and network will run alongside the current natural gas system.

A demonstration facility is proposed to allow customers to interact with hydrogen appliances in a home-like setting prior to opting in, while on-site storage at Methil will hold enough hydrogen to ensure supply will not be disrupted in inclement weather conditions.

Local SNP MSP Jenny Gilruth said: “In Scotland we have put in place worldleading climate change legislation and these plans announced by SGN, if approved, will put Levenmouth at the centre of world-leading renewable hydrogen energy development.

“Not only is Levenmouth set to reconnect to Scotland through the reopening of the rail link in the coming years, but this investment means we’ll be powering the way towards meeting the nation’s net-zero emissions targets, too.”

Scotland’s east coast is seen as one of the prime locations globally for such a network because of the availability of wind and water, rivalling desert sites in the likes of the United Arab Emirates and Australia, where hydrogen in water can be split from oxygen using solar power.

This investment means we’ll be powering the way towards meeting the nation’s net-zero emissions targets. MSP JENNY GILRUTH

Picture: White House Studios. The east coast is seen as a prime location for the development thanks to the availability of wind and water.