Dr. Andreas Poulikkas
President of the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority
The UK gas companies have drawn up plans to build the first hydrogen city by 2030 and the full transition to the hydrogen economy by 2050. The first hydrogen city has not yet been selected, but its development is part of the wider strategic plans for the transition of the UK market and gas networks to hydrogen markets and networks by 2050, as envisaged in the plan of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, announced in November 2020, for a “green industrial revolution” .
The design is based on four principles: (a) ensuring the reliability of the networks, (b) maintaining security of supply, (c) meeting the needs of consumers and (d) providing a quality and continuous supply chain. The transition to the first hydrogen city will take place in four stages. In the first stage, all the preparatory work will be done, including the replacement of the gas pipelines with pipelines for the use of hydrogen and test actions for the transfer of pure 100% hydrogen to consumers. More specifically, the goals set by 2023 are the mixing of 20% by volume hydrogen with natural gas and use in the gas distribution network as well as the test use of 100% hydrogen at the level of a “neighborhood test”.
During the second phase in 2025 the pilot actions for the transfer of pure 100% hydrogen to consumers will be extended to a larger area of the city “village test” and then until 2030 (third phase) throughout the city “city test”. Extensive installation and operation of hydrogen-using appliances and the use of hydrogen for power generation will begin. Targets are the production of 1 gigawatt hour of hydrogen by 2025 and 5 gigawatt hours of hydrogen by 2030.
In the fourth phase, the 2030s, the transition to the hydrogen economy will be scaled up, designing and building new hydrogen pipelines between industrial areas and connecting them to storage facilities, thus connecting hydrogen production to hydrogen networks with a final end use of 100 % of hydrogen for use in the domestic, industrial and transport sectors.
The full transition to the hydrogen economy is envisaged during the 2040s, with the development of a national hydrogen transmission and distribution network, with hydrogen production and large-scale hydrogen storage. The creation of the UK's first hydrogen city is not just about replacing gas. It is about reducing carbon dioxide emissions in a safe way and in the long run is about ensuring that sustainable hydrogen benefits are spread throughout the United Kingdom.
Coming to our country, the question that arises is: “Considering that in the long run, hydrogen will contribute to a large extent to the exploitation of renewable and environmentally friendly energy sources, what is the situation and what is the planning of Cyprus' transition to the hydrogen economy?” Hydrogen offers the opportunity to solve the problems of energy supply, climate change and air pollution facing our country. It is necessary to transform the existing polluting energy system of Cyprus into a sustainable energy system based on diversified energy sources aimed at turning to a hydrogen economy. Cyprus can be a pioneer in the hydrogen economy, but it needs vision and training of appropriate targeted strategic planning to be able to achieve this.