The Sunday Long Read
Due to the pressure of other news, Rishi Sunak’s recent visit to Bacton in Norfolk received relatively little attention. Those who noted it focused on his plans to expand the offshore production of oil and gas rather than the Bacton project itself. But the Bacton Energy Hub deserves more attention. The plan to make Norfolk the UK centre of hydrogen production and carbon capture could transform our energy systems. So what is this plan, and will it work?
Hydrogen and net zero
Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) is a major contributor to global heating, and the government is legally committed to ensuring that, by 2050, the UK will not be a net producer of CO₂. This means replacing fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas with renewable sources. Hydrogen is one such source. It can be used for many of the same purposes as fossil fuels, but whereas they produce CO₂ (and sometimes other pollutants) as byproducts, hydrogen produces only energy and clean water.
Uses of hydrogen
Hydrogen can replace fossil fuels in energy heavy industries. It can be used like natural gas in heating and, using fuel cell technologies, in transport. Some of these require substantial infrastructure work, while others are relatively simple. Major industrial uses often require little modification to existing plant, and the prospects are promising for uses in the chemical, cement and steel industries, which are very heavy energy users.
For domestic heating, it is possible to mix hydrogen with natural gas in existing boilers, using existing pipes. The plan is to do this by 2030, moving to 100% hydrogen by 2050.
Hydrogen can be economical in heavy transport and is already in use in buses and lorries. There is potential in trains because they require relatively few charging points, simplifying distribution costs. However, making it viable on any scale for private vehicles would require major work to convert existing petrol stations. To date, only 15 hydrogen charging stations have ever been installed in the UK, and some of these have already closed. It is also unclear how the environmental impact and economics of electric vehicle manufacture and use compare with those of hydrogen.
So can we produce enough hydrogen for our needs?
The three colours of hydrogen
Hydrogen is a “green” fuel. When burned, it generates power and water and no greenhouse gases. But its environmental impact depends on how it is produced. There are three broad ways of doing this.
- ‘Green hydrogen’ is the most environmentally friendly. It is created by passing an electrical current through water. This splits the water into hydrogen and oxygen. If the electricity itself is green, the whole process is carbon free. However, it requires a large supply of electricity; it is expensive; and currently it accounts for less than 2% of all the world’s hydrogen production. Although this is predicted to rise to 25% by 2030, and perhaps 40% by 2050, it is unclear whether this can ever be the major source of hydrogen.
- ‘Grey hydrogen’ is created from fossil fuels, usually natural gas. It is the least environmentally friendly, since it produces large quantities of CO₂ as a byproduct. At present grey hydrogen accounts for 92% of global hydrogen production, with the CO₂ adding to global heating.
- ‘Blue hydrogen’ adds carbon capture to grey hydrogen by either storing the carbon in underground caverns (like depleted oil fields) or locking it up in other ways. These technologies are not yet well developed.
The Government target is to produce 10 gigatons of hydrogen by 2030, half of it green and half “low carbon” (presumably blue).
Bacton
Bacton is a small settlement on the North Norfolk coast, half way between Cromer and Great Yarmouth. This is where natural gas from under the North Sea comes ashore and is processed before feeding into the national grid. Bacton handles a third of the UK’s natural gas supply, and exports gas to the rest of Europe. However, its future is in question in the light of the government’s commitment to decarbonise the economy.
In 2021 the Oil and Gas Authority published an assessment of the potential of hydrogen production at Bacton to contribute to the government’s Net Zero ambitions. The report was positive in terms of value and feasibility of Bacton as a ‘hydrogen hub’ for Britain.
The Bacton plan is to produce blue hydrogen, by converting the natural gas which comes ashore into hydrogen, and pumping the waste CO₂ back for permanent storage in the depleted oil and gas fields under the North Sea, or in underground salt caverns. Bacton would also be able to use North Sea gas fields which have not been viable before, because hydrogen can be produced from gas with contaminants which make it unusable for the national gas grid. Over time, the proposers plan to add green hydrogen production, using surplus energy from offshore windfarms, which sometimes generate more electricity that the national grid can handle.
Bacton has many advantages. It is already connected to the national gas grid and the offshore sources of gas and electricity. It is in a relatively isolated area, with plenty of land to expand facilities. By using offshore electricity at the point where that electricity comes ashore, it reduces the need for unpopular new pylon connections to the national electricity grid. It is already connected to the depleted oil and gas fields which are proposed for CO₂ storage. Finally, it can maintain a use for a site which would otherwise need to be closed as the use of gas declines.
What about the sea?
However, there are some questions. The evaluation study made no mention of coastal erosion, although the Norfolk coast is eroding faster than any coast in Europe. The terminal is very close to the beach. In view of the importance of the site, the 2012 approved Shoreline Management Plan for Norfolk proposed protecting the site, although this might have a damaging effect on the shoreline elsewhere. But in 2013, a tidal surge flooded areas of Bacton and Walcott villages, and removed 10 metres of cliff. To prevent further erosion, in 2019, a ‘sandscaping’ project imported 1.9 million tons of sand to remodel the beach. Evaluation to date suggests that this has stopped the erosion, though the ongoing risk and impact on other areas is being monitored.
Will carbon capture work, safely?
A second issue is whether large scale carbon capture will work. The plan is that the CO₂ generated by the hydrogen process will be pumped into exhausted oil and gas sites offshore, or into other geological formations where it can be locked up permanently.
If it works, the North Sea has the largest potential storage capacity in Europe. The British Geological Survey estimates that there is capacity to safely store 180 years worth of UK industrial CO₂ emissions. This opens the possibility of selling capacity to other European countries, making carbon storage an export opportunity for the UK. A key advantage of the Bacton plan is that it generates the CO₂ on site, close to the proposed pipelines, minimising the need for overland transport.
However, there remain questions. The technique has been used in the USA to flush the last oil out of exhausted fields, and appears to work. At a small scale it has been tested in the UK, but research is still needed to ensure that it is safe and will not leak back into the atmosphere.
What next for Norfolk hydrogen?
The Bacton plan looks promising. If Norfolk is to be the centre of UK hydrogen production it would make a major contribution to achieving net zero by 2050. So, in May the North Sea Transition Authority signed a Joint Development Agreement with Summit Energy Evolution Limited (SEEL) a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation of Japan, and Progressive Energy, a British company specialising in hydrogen and carbon capture development. They will carry out feasibility studies and prepare a full business case for the Hydrogen Hub. The intention is that the decision to proceed will be taken in 2025, with the aim of producing at least 355 megawatts of hydrogen at Bacton by 2030.
For 55 years Bacton has been quietly at the centre of Britain’s oil and gas economy, contributing massively to our carbon generation. It looks as if this tiny Norfolk village might be about to put that into reverse.
