Appraising different types of hydrogen appliance

Tender description

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy wishes commission a project to appraise different approaches to providing hydrogen appliances in UK homes, should there be a future transition from natural gas to hydrogen. Heat refers to any energy that is used, or might be used, for the purposes of heating or cooling in buildings, including cooking, providing hot water and in industrial processes. The Climate Change Act places a statutory obligation on the UK Government to make an 80% reduction in 1990 greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Achieving nearly zero carbon heating continues to be identified by government analysis as an important feature of any lowest cost pathway to 2050. Heat currently accounts for ~48% of UK energy consumption and approximately one third of our greenhouse gas emissions. On the 14/12/16, Baroness Neville Rolfe gave a speech at the Policy Exchange's Heat Summit on heat decarbonisation. For more information see Baroness Neville Rolfe's keynote speech from the Policy Exchange event "The Heat Summit: How Can We Decarbonise Heating?" Converting the gas grid to hydrogen is one potential option for decarbonising part of the UK's heat demand. A Supplier Day was held on 21/4/17. Slides from the event are published alongside this ITT. Non-attendance at the Supplier Day does not preclude you from further involvement in the tender process. Questions and answers raised during the Supplier Day will be published alongside this ITT in the next few days. Any further questions can also be asked to jenna.owen@beis.gov.uk and all responses will be provided and published to all interested parties in an anonymised form. Description: This project will seek to appraise the following three variations in approach to providing hydrogen appliances in UK homes should there be a transition from natural gas to hydrogen: a) Appliances fully replaced: Natural gas appliances removed and hydrogen appliances installed in their place. b) Appliances adapted: Natural gas appliances have components that can be easily switched-out to allow conversion to hydrogen. c) Dual fuel appliances: Appliances will be capable of burning both natural gas and hydrogen. For the purposes of this project, "appliances" will be defined as: domestic gas boilers, ovens, hobs and fires. This project will consider the cost, performance, practicality and technical feasibility of the three variations in approach to hydrogen appliances identified above. It will seek to understand, the trade-offs and preferred market conditions for the development of each variation. The precise research questions that we are looking for the contractor to address are included in the ITT attached. The contractors will be invited to propose a methodology which would best meet the overall aim and objectives above for approval by BEIS. The methodology proposed must make clear how contractors will deliver new robust evidence, and add value to the evidence base.