00:00:09.990 hello and welcome to just ever think so 00:00:12.86900:00:12.879 last week we had a look at hydrogen 00:00:14.73000:00:14.740 storage and I think it's fair to say 00:00:16.41000:00:16.420 it's been a pretty interesting week 00:00:18.09000:00:18.100 since then more than 80,000 people 00:00:20.19000:00:20.200 watched that video and 6,000 new 00:00:22.77000:00:22.780 subscribers have joined the channel just 00:00:24.36000:00:24.370 in the last seven days which is 00:00:26.34000:00:26.350 absolutely phenomenal and a massive 00:00:28.68000:00:28.690 thank you to all of you there's 00:00:30.06000:00:30.070 obviously some strength of feeling out 00:00:31.71000:00:31.720 there on both sides of the hydrogen 00:00:33.42000:00:33.430 debate and that came through loud and 00:00:35.06900:00:35.079 clear in your comments last week there 00:00:37.62000:00:37.630 was quite a bit of feedback suggesting 00:00:39.27000:00:39.280 that there wasn't enough emphasis in 00:00:40.86000:00:40.870 last week's program on the inherent 00:00:43.22900:00:43.239 inefficiencies of the hydrogen 00:00:44.94000:00:44.950 conversion process and that's a 00:00:46.20000:00:46.210 perfectly reasonable observation in fact 00:00:48.81000:00:48.820 it's something we looked at in the video 00:00:50.37000:00:50.380 that we did last September which you can 00:00:52.70900:00:52.719 click and have a look at up there but in 00:00:54.66000:00:54.670 the meantime here is a quick summary 00:00:56.42000:00:56.430 water electrolysis loses about 30% of 00:00:59.88000:00:59.890 the energy that's put into the reaction 00:01:01.13900:01:01.149 there's a slightly more efficient 00:01:03.11900:01:03.129 version called proton exchange membrane 00:01:04.74000:01:04.750 electrolysis which improves the output 00:01:07.02000:01:07.030 from 70 to 80 percent but this is still 00:01:09.77900:01:09.789 a lot less efficient than the 99 percent 00:01:11.45900:01:11.469 charging efficiency of a lithium-ion 00:01:13.80000:01:13.810 battery freezing hydrogen to about 20 00:01:17.21900:01:17.229 degrees above absolute zero loses around 00:01:19.85900:01:19.869 40 percent of the available energy 00:01:21.38900:01:21.399 whereas pressurization loses about 13% 00:01:24.84000:01:24.850 so pressurization tends to be the more 00:01:26.99900:01:27.009 common option transporting the fuel can 00:01:30.17900:01:30.189 cost anything between 10% and 40% of the 00:01:32.84900:01:32.859 energy depending on the transport method 00:01:34.67900:01:34.689 and the distance of travel and then 00:01:36.62900:01:36.639 you've got energy losses inside the fuel 00:01:38.60900:01:38.619 cell modern hydrogen fuel cells are 00:01:40.70900:01:40.719 about 60 percent efficient the other 40 00:01:43.23000:01:43.240 percent is mostly heat loss taking 00:01:45.23900:01:45.249 everything into account you get an 00:01:46.58900:01:46.599 overall efficiency for lithium-ion 00:01:48.30000:01:48.310 vehicle batteries of about 75 percent 00:01:50.81900:01:50.829 compared to 35% for hydrogen fuel cells 00:01:54.20900:01:54.219 which equates to a cost per mile for 00:01:56.03900:01:56.049 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that's about 00:01:58.46900:01:58.479 eight times higher than the cost of 00:02:00.47900:02:00.489 lithium-ion battery powered vehicles so 00:02:02.76000:02:02.770 for small personal vehicles it's fair to 00:02:05.01000:02:05.020 say the hydrogen has got an uphill 00:02:07.37900:02:07.389 battle in the marketplace 00:02:09.24000:02:09.250 but by the way let's not forget that 00:02:10.85900:02:10.869 internal combustion engines can only 00:02:13.17000:02:13.180 operate at about 20 00:02:14.39000:02:14.400 to 30% efficiency because the majority 00:02:16.75900:02:16.769 of their energy is lost to heat so in 00:02:19.36900:02:19.379 any comparison ice engines come out as 00:02:21.61900:02:21.629 the poor relation some of you also felt 00:02:23.86900:02:23.879 that hydrogen was just a backdoor way of 00:02:25.94000:02:25.950 allowing the fossil fuel producers to 00:02:28.06900:02:28.079 continue producing fossil fuels after 00:02:31.09900:02:31.109 all as we mentioned last week the 00:02:32.66000:02:32.670 industrial process of steam reforming 00:02:34.80900:02:34.819 produces hydrogen by splitting natural 00:02:37.25000:02:37.260 gas otherwise known as methane or 00:02:39.47000:02:39.480 methane in the United States a process 00:02:41.89900:02:41.909 which releases co2 and the concept of 00:02:45.41000:02:45.420 adding hydrogen to existing methane 00:02:47.62900:02:47.639 natural gas pipelines as a kind of 00:02:49.75900:02:49.769 bridging fuel to ease down 00:02:51.83000:02:51.840 natural gas production will some say 00:02:54.58900:02:54.599 also allow the fossil fuel companies to 00:02:57.22900:02:57.239 fudge their figures and make it look 00:02:59.08900:02:59.099 like they're doing a much better job 00:03:00.28900:03:00.299 than they really are and one or two of 00:03:02.11900:03:02.129 you over there in the United States also 00:03:03.64900:03:03.659 suggested that any grid level 00:03:05.83900:03:05.849 implementation of hydrogen is just 00:03:07.91000:03:07.920 shifting the emphasis from one 00:03:09.41000:03:09.420 monopolistic power producer to another 00:03:11.78000:03:11.790 allowing the shadowy Monument to 00:03:14.05900:03:14.069 maintain their grip on power and still 00:03:16.64000:03:16.650 control the prices that you and I pay 00:03:18.58900:03:18.599 for our energy there are all valid 00:03:20.72000:03:20.730 points that deserve the benefit of full 00:03:22.61000:03:22.620 debate which is probably something 00:03:24.17000:03:24.180 that's outside the scope of a single 00:03:25.69900:03:25.709 program but as with every single other 00:03:28.03900:03:28.049 disruptive technology that human beings 00:03:30.05000:03:30.060 have ever invented from The Telegraph 00:03:32.08900:03:32.099 and the internal combustion engine in 00:03:34.22000:03:34.230 the 19th century to renewable energies 00:03:36.71000:03:36.720 and the Internet today there will always 00:03:38.89900:03:38.909 be a body of opinion that extinct for 00:03:41.72000:03:41.730 reasons not to continue with its 00:03:43.72900:03:43.739 development and that's no bad thing in a 00:03:45.80000:03:45.810 way it keeps the developers on their 00:03:47.27000:03:47.280 toes and it probably does occasionally 00:03:49.06900:03:49.079 weed out the really wacky ideas from the 00:03:52.09900:03:52.109 mix in one sense here in Europe and 00:03:54.31900:03:54.329 particularly in continental Europe that 00:03:56.59900:03:56.609 fear of monopolistic centralized control 00:03:58.87900:03:58.889 that I spoke about a moment ago is just 00:04:01.15900:04:01.169 as prevalent as it is over there in the 00:04:03.25900:04:03.269 United States over here though the 00:04:05.30000:04:05.310 anxiety is all about Europe's heavy 00:04:07.46000:04:07.470 reliance on Russian methane gas European 00:04:11.24000:04:11.250 governments feel an acute sense of 00:04:12.80000:04:12.810 vulnerability to the vagaries of mr. 00:04:14.78000:04:14.790 Putin's regime as was so graphically 00:04:17.02900:04:17.039 demonstrated when Russia's gas giant 00:04:19.12900:04:19.139 Gazprom turned off Ukraine's gas supply 00:04:21.80000:04:21.810 in the middle of the harsh 2018 winter 00:04:24.07000:04:24.080 here in the UK our government policy 00:04:27.76000:04:27.770 is guided by our very own climate change 00:04:29.98000:04:29.990 Committee or CCC they're the people who 00:04:33.18900:04:33.199 earlier this year recommended a pathway 00:04:34.80900:04:34.819 by which the UK could reach net zero 00:04:37.05900:04:37.069 carbon emissions by 2050 part of that 00:04:40.68900:04:40.699 pathway would see the UK government 00:04:42.46000:04:42.470 pushing ahead with the development of 00:04:44.43900:04:44.449 hydrogen the committee's report made 00:04:46.57000:04:46.580 these summary observations hydrogen is a 00:04:50.02000:04:50.030 credible option to help decarbonize the 00:04:51.85000:04:51.860 UK energy system but its role depends on 00:04:54.36900:04:54.379 early government commitment and improved 00:04:56.64900:04:56.659 support to develop the UK's industrial 00:04:59.14000:04:59.150 capability hydrogen can make an 00:05:02.35000:05:02.360 important contribution to long-term 00:05:04.23000:05:04.240 decarbonisation if combined with greater 00:05:06.79000:05:06.800 energy efficiency cheap low carbon power 00:05:09.46000:05:09.470 generation electrified transport and new 00:05:12.79000:05:12.800 hybrid heat pump systems which have been 00:05:15.30900:05:15.319 successfully trialed in the UK hydrogen 00:05:18.70000:05:18.710 could replace natural gas in parts of 00:05:21.01000:05:21.020 the energy system where electrification 00:05:22.39000:05:22.400 is not feasible or is prohibitively 00:05:25.02900:05:25.039 expensive for example in providing heat 00:05:27.24900:05:27.259 on cold winter days industrial heat 00:05:29.68000:05:29.690 processes and backup power generation 00:05:32.24900:05:32.259 but they also point out hydrogen is not 00:05:36.10000:05:36.110 a silver bullet solution there's clearly 00:05:39.21900:05:39.229 a great many potential opportunities 00:05:41.02000:05:41.030 being pursued and developed with 00:05:42.64000:05:42.650 hydrogen and again far too many for a 00:05:44.76900:05:44.779 single program so in today's video we're 00:05:47.17000:05:47.180 just going to focus on the part of that 00:05:48.79000:05:48.800 climate change committee report that 00:05:50.74000:05:50.750 talked about using hydrogen as part of a 00:05:53.58900:05:53.599 hybrid system to heat our homes heating 00:05:56.86000:05:56.870 homes businesses and industry accounts 00:05:59.55900:05:59.569 for nearly half of all the energy use in 00:06:01.77900:06:01.789 the UK and a third of UK carbon 00:06:04.39000:06:04.400 emissions so reductions in this sector 00:06:06.55000:06:06.560 will have a big influence on the UK's 00:06:08.80000:06:08.810 chances of hitting the 2050 target the 00:06:12.18900:06:12.199 CCC reckoned the cheapest scenario for 00:06:14.62000:06:14.630 the UK's national heating in a 00:06:16.18000:06:16.190 low-carbon world will be achieved by 00:06:18.58000:06:18.590 installing hydrogen boilers in 00:06:21.04000:06:21.050 conjunction with the electrification of 00:06:23.17000:06:23.180 heating by which they mean a hybrid 00:06:25.20900:06:25.219 heating system so what exactly is a 00:06:27.64000:06:27.650 hybrid heating system well it's a system 00:06:30.58000:06:30.590 that combines a heat pump outside the 00:06:33.15900:06:33.169 house with some sort of boiler inside 00:06:35.95000:06:35.960 the house there's two types of heat pump 00:06:38.17000:06:38.180 air source heat pumps 00:06:40.39000:06:40.400 ground-source heat pumps according to 00:06:42.24900:06:42.259 this very useful report at possibly one 00:06:44.59000:06:44.600 of the world's most geekly title 00:06:46.39000:06:46.400 websites Euler guide co uk a ground 00:06:50.20000:06:50.210 source heat pump extracts heat from 00:06:51.99900:06:52.009 underground pipes are buried in your 00:06:53.89000:06:53.900 garden either horizontally in loops or 00:06:55.71900:06:55.729 vertically downwards a fluid passes 00:06:58.62900:06:58.639 through these pipes which extracts heat 00:07:00.46000:07:00.470 from the ground and transfers it to a 00:07:02.56000:07:02.570 heat exchanger this heat exchanger heats 00:07:06.52000:07:06.530 water via taps and central heating an 00:07:09.64000:07:09.650 air-source heat pump is a fan unit which 00:07:12.58000:07:12.590 has installed outside your home where it 00:07:14.20000:07:14.210 extracts heat from the air outside even 00:07:16.21000:07:16.220 in temperatures as low as minus 15 and 00:07:18.31000:07:18.320 again this heat is used to heat water 00:07:20.65000:07:20.660 via taps in your central heating the 00:07:23.14000:07:23.150 other half of the hybrid system is the 00:07:24.46000:07:24.470 kind of boiler that most of us are 00:07:25.90000:07:25.910 already used to the boiler is at its 00:07:27.93900:07:27.949 most effective and cheapest to run in 00:07:30.27900:07:30.289 the cold winter months a hybrid heating 00:07:32.86000:07:32.870 system will monitor the temperature 00:07:34.48000:07:34.490 outside and automatically choose the 00:07:36.73000:07:36.740 most energy-efficient option for example 00:07:38.89000:07:38.900 when the temperature outside is 2 00:07:40.60000:07:40.610 degrees Celsius or higher the heat pump 00:07:43.15000:07:43.160 will heat your home and hot water using 00:07:45.61000:07:45.620 renewable energy so your boiler doesn't 00:07:47.23000:07:47.240 need to run when the temperature drops 00:07:49.36000:07:49.370 the system will intelligently switch to 00:07:51.93900:07:51.949 your boiler so as to maintain efficiency 00:07:53.98000:07:53.990 and keep energy costs to a minimum in 00:07:57.33900:07:57.349 fact the boiler could just use natural 00:07:58.68900:07:58.699 gas like the ball is that most of us 00:08:00.37000:08:00.380 have got in our homes now but of course 00:08:02.05000:08:02.060 that wouldn't really contribute to our 00:08:03.73000:08:03.740 net carbon zero targets would it it 00:08:06.15900:08:06.169 could instead be an all-electric model 00:08:08.37900:08:08.389 electric combi boilers already exist and 00:08:11.14000:08:11.150 if they get their powerful renewable 00:08:12.82000:08:12.830 energy either because you get your 00:08:14.40900:08:14.419 electricity from a green energy provider 00:08:16.42000:08:16.430 or you've got solar panels on your roof 00:08:18.61000:08:18.620 or perhaps even a combination of both 00:08:20.26000:08:20.270 then an electric boiler is a very good 00:08:23.08000:08:23.090 low carbon alternative to our 00:08:24.58000:08:24.590 traditional gas boilers in fact so far 00:08:27.70000:08:27.710 in this scenario we haven't mentioned 00:08:28.83900:08:28.849 hydrogen at all 00:08:30.04000:08:30.050 so where does that fit in well as a 00:08:33.31000:08:33.320 result of those climate change committee 00:08:35.19900:08:35.209 recommendations that we looked at 00:08:36.49000:08:36.500 earlier back in 2018 the UK government 00:08:39.82000:08:39.830 department of business energy and 00:08:41.56000:08:41.570 industrial strategy or ba is headed by 00:08:44.50000:08:44.510 Claire parry commissioned frays and Nash 00:08:47.07900:08:47.089 consultants to produce a full report on 00:08:49.84000:08:49.850 the potential for domestic hydrogen 00:08:51.94000:08:51.950 boilers as well as Hobbs 00:08:53.76900:08:53.779 ovens and fires while the climate change 00:08:56.07900:08:56.089 committee does accept the production and 00:08:58.09000:08:58.100 use of hydrogen is generally less 00:09:00.12900:09:00.139 efficient than electrification they also 00:09:02.53000:09:02.540 point out the hydrogen is more readily 00:09:04.60000:09:04.610 storable than electricity a very large 00:09:06.81900:09:06.829 scale which is why the UK and other 00:09:09.36900:09:09.379 European governments are quite keen to 00:09:10.86900:09:10.879 use it to replace natural gas and 00:09:13.38900:09:13.399 potentially oil in parts of the energy 00:09:15.67000:09:15.680 system we're full electrification is 00:09:17.55900:09:17.569 very difficult or disruptive or very 00:09:20.47000:09:20.480 expensive so how do hydrogen boilers 00:09:23.73900:09:23.749 work then well that's a very good 00:09:25.38900:09:25.399 question because they're not actually 00:09:26.86000:09:26.870 commercially available just yet that's 00:09:28.80900:09:28.819 where the report from the Fraser Nash 00:09:30.48900:09:30.499 consultancy comes in they looked at 00:09:32.59000:09:32.600 three likely options for development 00:09:34.54000:09:34.550 number one was new appliances developed 00:09:36.85000:09:36.860 specifically to run on hydrogen number 00:09:39.34000:09:39.350 two was the adaptation of existing 00:09:40.72000:09:40.730 natural gas appliances in situ to run on 00:09:44.04900:09:44.059 hydrogen and number three was new dual 00:09:46.90000:09:46.910 fuel appliances that can switch from 00:09:49.21000:09:49.220 natural gas to hydrogen and they've 00:09:52.17900:09:52.189 actually identified some fairly 00:09:53.53000:09:53.540 significant technical challenges that 00:09:55.80900:09:55.819 we'll need quite a lot of research and 00:09:57.40000:09:57.410 development to overcome in very very 00:10:00.63900:10:00.649 brief summary of their very large report 00:10:02.94900:10:02.959 they made these final conclusions 00:10:06.21000:10:06.220 hydrogen has a significantly higher 00:10:08.47000:10:08.480 flame speed greater flammability range 00:10:10.78000:10:10.790 and is likely to burn as a higher 00:10:12.87900:10:12.889 temperature than natural gas these 00:10:15.61000:10:15.620 characteristics present significant 00:10:17.37900:10:17.389 engineering challenges that particularly 00:10:18.99900:10:19.009 affect the burners in appliances 00:10:21.44900:10:21.459 specifically there are concerns with 00:10:23.47000:10:23.480 light back which is propagation of 00:10:25.21000:10:25.220 flames back through burners higher NOx 00:10:27.63900:10:27.649 emissions and the potential explosion of 00:10:30.46000:10:30.470 unburned gas yeah they need to sort that 00:10:33.04000:10:33.050 one out the report also talked about 00:10:35.59000:10:35.600 flame failure devices and these things 00:10:38.31900:10:38.329 detect the presence of a flame and 00:10:40.15000:10:40.160 automatically switch the gas off if the 00:10:42.51900:10:42.529 flame goes out natural gas boilers use 00:10:45.36900:10:45.379 ionization sensors to detect combustion 00:10:47.94900:10:47.959 gases from the flames the ionization 00:10:50.37900:10:50.389 sensors don't work with a hydrogen flame 00:10:52.32900:10:52.339 so you need something else industrial 00:10:55.11900:10:55.129 processes use ultraviolet and infrared 00:10:57.10000:10:57.110 sensors they're a good option but 00:10:59.82900:10:59.839 they'll have to be redeveloped to reduce 00:11:01.66000:11:01.670 their size and cost other components 00:11:04.44900:11:04.459 like pipelines gas valves and heat 00:11:06.51900:11:06.529 exchangers 00:11:07.42000:11:07.430 we'll need a certain amount of 00:11:08.56000:11:08.570 redevelopment to cope with the different 00:11:10.51000:11:10.520 combustion characteristics of hydrogen 00:11:12.34000:11:12.350 but essentially the fundamental 00:11:14.65000:11:14.660 operating principles won't fundamentally 00:11:17.05000:11:17.060 change perhaps their most important 00:11:19.54000:11:19.550 piece of advice though is this 00:11:21.51000:11:21.520 development of a hundred percent 00:11:23.17000:11:23.180 hydrogen domestic appliances will 00:11:25.69000:11:25.700 require government intervention 00:11:27.24000:11:27.250 initially this requires target funding 00:11:30.19000:11:30.200 to close the innovation gap and develop 00:11:32.56000:11:32.570 the first generation of appliances in 00:11:34.87000:11:34.880 other words some central government 00:11:36.55000:11:36.560 finance paid for out of our taxes will 00:11:39.07000:11:39.080 have to be diverted from other funding 00:11:41.08000:11:41.090 programs into the research and 00:11:42.94000:11:42.950 development and quite possibly 00:11:43.90000:11:43.910 subsidization of these new technologies 00:11:46.99000:11:47.000 the climate change committee themselves 00:11:49.69000:11:49.700 even went as far as saying this 00:11:51.45000:11:51.460 depending on the development of hydrogen 00:11:53.62000:11:53.630 ready appliances and the cost premium 00:11:55.66000:11:55.670 over natural gas boilers but government 00:11:57.82000:11:57.830 should consider mandating hydrogen ready 00:11:59.86000:11:59.870 heating appliances by the mid-2020s 00:12:02.22000:12:02.230 similar to the successful manned ation 00:12:04.60000:12:04.610 of condensing boilers 20 years earlier 00:12:07.09000:12:07.100 and that's a concept that might be more 00:12:09.43000:12:09.440 readily acceptable over here in Europe 00:12:11.50000:12:11.510 than it would be in some other societies 00:12:13.51000:12:13.520 around the world not least in the United 00:12:15.61000:12:15.620 States and then there's still the issue 00:12:17.41000:12:17.420 of how the hydrogen is produced in the 00:12:19.42000:12:19.430 first place as this CCC infographic 00:12:22.78000:12:22.790 shows it won't just be via a water 00:12:24.67000:12:24.680 electrolysis the intention is still to 00:12:27.13000:12:27.140 use steam reforming as well but with the 00:12:29.29000:12:29.300 important addition of carbon capture and 00:12:31.78000:12:31.790 storage and that's a whole separate 00:12:34.00000:12:34.010 technology and debate that we've looked 00:12:36.04000:12:36.050 at a couple of times in previous 00:12:37.57000:12:37.580 programs so I won't dwell on it here 00:12:39.58000:12:39.590 suffice to say that for various reasons 00:12:42.52000:12:42.530 the jury is very much still out on 00:12:44.68000:12:44.690 whether carbon capture and storage is a 00:12:47.26000:12:47.270 viable option within the carbon 00:12:49.15000:12:49.160 reduction project no doubt many of you 00:12:51.61000:12:51.620 will have a view on this subject and 00:12:52.90000:12:52.910 have been some great debates in the 00:12:54.16000:12:54.170 discussion threads on the previous video 00:12:56.02000:12:56.030 so please do feel free to dive in and 00:12:58.18000:12:58.190 leave your thoughts in the comment 00:12:59.83000:12:59.840 section below we could go into loads 00:13:02.23000:13:02.240 more really technical detail on this one 00:13:04.09000:13:04.100 but in the interest of brevity and 00:13:05.53000:13:05.540 sanity I'll leave it there for this week 00:13:07.51000:13:07.520 I have they left links to all the 00:13:09.43000:13:09.440 articles and technical papers that I 00:13:11.20000:13:11.210 used to research this program so if you 00:13:13.33000:13:13.340 want to delve into the subject a bit 00:13:14.65000:13:14.660 more then scroll down past the 00:13:16.54000:13:16.550 description in the comment section and 00:13:18.16000:13:18.170 they'll all be there for you to click on 00:13:19.81000:13:19.820 please do 00:13:20.56900:13:20.579 give us a like on a show if you found 00:13:21.73900:13:21.749 the program useful and informative and 00:13:23.32900:13:23.339 most important of all if you haven't 00:13:25.30900:13:25.319 already done so please do subscribe to 00:13:27.47000:13:27.480 the channel to support the work that we 00:13:29.41900:13:29.429 do 6000 people in a week can't be wrong 00:13:31.81900:13:31.829 after all 00:13:32.29900:13:32.309 and if you hit the little notification 00:13:34.12900:13:34.139 bell when you subscribe then you'll be 00:13:36.49900:13:36.509 kept up to date 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