+44  020 3835 1111

info@viewmyair.com

Hydrogen Ready



Hydrogen Ready ?



Your existing gas supply is moving away from methane and will run on cleaner hydrogen.


By the end of 2023 Britain’s gas grid expects to meet the Government’s target to deliver 20% hydrogen. Viewmyair services make your businesses 'gas detection switchover' from methane gas to Hydrogen simple and straightforward.

 

viewmyair services - Hydrogen leak detection specialists



Want to know when Hydrogen will enter your gas supply?


Easy. Submit the form below and we'll tell you!

Our expertise, you're safety



We upgrade your existing gas detection equipment to include Hydrogen and or Biomethane. Helping your businesses move toward achieving a safer workplace, whilst creating a cheaper, cleaner energy supply enabling Net Zero.


Our national network of engineers can upgrade your existing methane gas detection equipment to include detection of hydrogen, biomethanes as well as natural gas in around 30 minutes


Quick Install Time


It only takes one of our fully trained engineers around 30 minutes to transition your existing gas detection system.

Specialist Engineering


Our engineers are comprehensively trained to upgrade, service and calibrate (any make or model gas detector).

Save Money


The cost for a new hydrogen, biomethane and methane detector system is less than a standard methane gas detector - with viewmyair servicing *

National Coverage


With engineers nationally we can accommodate gas detection transitioning out of hours to ensure your business runs 24/7/365

As the industry leading specialists in gas detection servicing maintenance and safety, ensuring systems are compliant with latest standards is critical to our core values.


We have passed industry leading conformity and compliance through testing, verification and inspection.


view our accreditations



Why do we need to replace the natural gas detection within your business ? 


Watch our short introductory video on how viewmyair services and Britain's gas networks

are working together to deliver hydrogen safely and securely to businesses across the UK.

General Questions

  • What is Hydrogen?

    Hydrogen is a clean alternative to methane, also known as natural gas. It's the most abundant chemical element, estimated to contribute 75% of the mass of the universe.


    Hydrogen is a non-toxic, odourless and colourless gas that is lighter than air. H2 is smallest molecule in the universe, therefore it is very likely to leak from containment. This doesn’t pose as a huge threat to personnel as it is non-toxic, however Hydrogen is extremely flammable, substantially more than common gas fuels.


    Here on earth, vast numbers of hydrogen atoms are contained in water, plants, animals and, of course, humans. But while it’s present in nearly all molecules in living things, it’s very scarce as a gas – less than one part per million by volume.


    Hydrogen can be produced from a variety of resources, such as natural gas, nuclear power, biogas and renewable power like solar and wind. The challenge is harnessing hydrogen as a gas on a large scale to fuel our homes and businesses.


    Hydrogen actually formed up to 50% of towns gas which was used before the conversion to natural gas in the 1960s and 70s.

  • Why is Hydrogen important as an energy source ?

    A fuel is a chemical that can be ‘burnt’ to provide useful energy. Burning normally means that chemical bonds between the elements in the fuel are broken and the elements chemically combine with oxygen (often from the air).



    For many years, we’ve used natural gas to heat our homes and businesses, and for power stations to generate electricity; currently 85% of homes and 40% of the UK’s electricity relies on gas. Methane is the main constituent of ‘natural gas’ from oil and gas fields.



    We’ve continued to use natural gas because it’s a readily available resource, it’s cost effective and it’s a cleaner alternative to coal – the dirtiest fossil fuel that we historically relied on for heating and to generate electricity.



    When natural gas is burnt, it provides heat energy. But a waste product alongside water is carbon dioxide, which when released into the atmosphere contributes to climate change. When we burn hydrogen, the only waste product is water vapour.

  • What is the difference between blue hydrogen and green hydrogen ?

    Blue hydrogen is produced from non-renewable energy sources, by using one of two primary methods. Steam methane reformation is the most common method for producing bulk hydrogen and accounts for most of the world’s production. This method uses a reformer, which reacts steam at a high temperature and pressure with methane and a nickel catalyst to form hydrogen and carbon monoxide.



    Alternatively, autothermal reforming uses oxygen and carbon dioxide or steam to react with methane to form hydrogen. The downside of these two methods is that they produce carbon as a by-product, so carbon capture and storage (CCS) is essential to trap and store this carbon.



    Green hydrogen is produced by using electricity to power an electrolyser that splits the hydrogen from water molecules. This process produces pure hydrogen, with no harmful by-products. An added benefit is that, because this method uses electricity, it also offers the potential to divert any excess electricity – which is hard to store (like surplus wind power) – to electrolysis, using it to create hydrogen gas that can be stored for future energy needs

  • Is hydrogen already being used as a fuel?

    Yes. There are already cars that run on hydrogen fuel cells. In Japan there are 96 public hydrogen refuelling stations, allowing you to fill up just as you would with petrol or diesel and in the same time frame as a traditional fuel car. Germany has 80 of these hydrogen stations and the United States is third with 42 stations.


    Hydrogen is also an exciting lightweight fuel option for road, air and shipping transportation. The international delivery company DHL already has a fleet of 100 ‘H2 panel vans’, capable of travelling 500kms without refuelling.

  • What are the potential brakes to speeding up hydrogen use as a clean energy ?

    For hydrogen to be a viable alternative to methane, it has to be produced at scale, economically and the current infrastructure needs to be adapted.


    The good news is that hydrogen can be transported through gas pipelines, minimising disruption and reducing the amount of expensive infrastructure needed to build a new hydrogen transmission network. There would also be no need for a culture change in our home lives, as people are used to using natural gas for cooking and heating, and hydrogen energy equivalents are emerging.

Timeline to 100% Hydrogen

 

Government release 10 Point Plan

The government’s 10 Point Plan laid out the move to boost hydrogen production with plans for a hydrogen village, town, and eventually city to aid the wholescale transition to hydrogen across the UK

Government release Energy White Paper

Issued by BEIS, the Energy White paper set out specific steps for the government to take over the next decade to cut carbon emissions and support 220,000 jobs in the industry.

Hydrogen Strategy Paper

The Hydrogen Strategy Paper reveals the government’s intentions for hydrogen and how extensive its use will be in achieving net zero 2050

Hydrogen enters grid for first time

Launched by the government, the strategy builds on the pledges made in the government’s 10 Point Plan, setting ambitious targets to cut carbon emissions from heating and hot water.


Wales & West Utilities received the green light from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to inject gas containing up to 1% hydrogen into its gas network in Swindon, the first time that they have permitted natural gas with an elevated hydrogen level to be used in the national network.

– COP 26

The annual UN Climate Change Conference is due to take place in November in Glasgow, where world leaders will meet to combat the climate crisis

Gas blending

Hydrogen detection monitors to be installed in all commercial space where gas detection is a legal requirement.


By end of 2023 at least 20% Introduction of hydrogen injected into the gas grid across the UK.


Some regions are expected to see greater volumes of hydrogen blending as businesses race to Net Zero. Such as Gateshead where 100% hydrogen will be used, and the Redcar project, plus some businesses already comitted to using 100% hydrogen from 2025.

2025 - 2030

100% hydrogen gas is expected into gas grid, right across the UK.


The use of hydrogen will transition as planned for wholescale use on the gas grid. 


Deployment of Hydrogen FCV service stations across the UK.

Gas-fired boilers removed from the market in favour of hydrogen boilers and heat pumps.


Hydrogen conversion rolled out for domestic,  industry, and transport. Hydrogen to potentially be implemented across all walks of life beyond heating. 

All five of Britain’s gas network companies, responsible for owning and operating critical national energy infrastructure, have committed to delivering a 100% Hydrogen gas network. It forms a key part of their ambition to building the world’s first zero carbon gas grid, here in the UK. Energy Networks Association (ENA) has published Britain’s Hydrogen Blending Delivery Plan, setting out how all five of Britain’s gas grid companies will meet the Government’s target for Britain’s network of gas pipes to be ready to deliver 20% hydrogen to homes and businesses around the country from 2023, as a replacement for up to a fifth of the natural gas currently used. It will also mean that Britain’s fleet of gas-fired power plants will be able to use blended hydrogen to generate cleaner electricity.


Click on your provider below to learn more about the transition in your region

Download

Hydrogen blending


What is it and why does it matter? 


Blending is when the gas providers begin to inject amounts of Hydrogen into the existing gas networks supply of methane. This begins at 1%, then gradually increases to 20%, then being ramped up to 80% and finally 100%.


Blending allows use of existing network of natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines, and a huge reduction in upfront capital costs.


Blending 20% hydrogen into the gas grid with existing natural gas would save around 6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year, the equivalent of taking 2.5 million cars off the road.


 


A 20/80 blend (hydrogen/methane, by volume) is currently considered the upper limit. The blending report is clear that hydrogen blending within such limit will be only a temporary and transitional arrangement, towards a hydrogen-only (or hydrogen plus biomethane) system.

Benefits

Increase the efficiency of natural gas: Hydrogen has an 8 times high flaming feature than natural gas.


Emissions reduction: It is estimated that a blend comprised of as little as 5% low carbon hydrogen could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2%.


Allows use of existing network of natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines: By carrying a blend of hydrogen and natural gas, existing natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines can be repurposed to expedite the growth of hydrogen use


Reduction of upfront capital costs: Blending hydrogen into existing natural gas infrastructure limits the significant capital costs required to develop dedicated transmission and distribution infrastructure for hydrogen

Challenges

Hydrogen Leakages : When compared to natural gas, hydrogen is more unstable so the chance of leakage is high.


Dated gas detection equipment: Detection is the first line of defense in fire safety. Many businesses are not aware of the inevitable transition, and therefore may have not fit for purpose gas detection monitors.


Pipeline compatibility: While the newer steel and polyethylene used in natural gas distribution systems are not typically subject to embrittlement concerns, the steel used in older distribution infrastructure and natural gas transmission pipelines, together with the higher pressures in these transmission pipelines as compared to distribution systems, does make them susceptible to leakage.



Conclusion

Britain’s Hydrogen Network plan will play a vital role in delivering the UK’s ambitions for hydrogen, as set out in the Prime Minister’s Ten point plan for a 'Green Industrial Revolution'. This Plan will enable the existing gas networks to supply 100% hydrogen and be transported for use in different sectors of the UK economy - starting with blending..


The safety of buildings and the occupants inside is something any profession cannot afford to get wrong. It is paramount to ensure any business premises has the correct gas detection systems in place before, during and after the switchover.




Call us on 020 3835 111 if you are unsure when Hydrogen is due to commence in your region.


It takes 15 times less energy to ignite Hydrogen than what it does to ignite Petroleum



Accurate and fast detection of leaking Hydrogen prevents it reaching dangerous levels.

Having a reliable Hydrogen detection & monitoring system is critical, the smallest leak can be fatal.

Book your transition now

Submit your request and we'll  get back to you soon

SMELL GAS ?

Immediately call


0800 111 999


If you smell gas, think you have a gas leak, or are worried that carbon monoxide fumes are escaping from an appliance, call the free National Gas Emergency Service immediately.

Are you hydrogen confused?

Hello Hydrogen, is a group of the UK’s biggest gas networks, boiler manufacturers and energy suppliers who have come together to help start you on the hydrogen journey. viewmyair have partnered with hello hydrogen for resources available through their website, enabling additional support for those who are a little hydrogen confused.


www.hellohydrogen.com

Share by: