As part of the Hydrogen Innovation Initiative, Energy Systems Catapult (the Catapult) commissioned Ricardo to develop a comprehensive study detailing the progress and potential of deploying large-scale wind facilities coupled with water electrolysers to produce hydrogen, across the UK.

The study identified potential zones of opportunity for wind-electrolyser systems considering constraining and enabling factors, such as supporting infrastructure, technology supply chains, geographical constraints, storage needs, and costs on the successful deployment of wind-electrolyser systems.

Key findings:

• The lifting of the de facto ban on onshore wind is a crucial development bringing wind-powered green hydrogen production closer to end users. As onshore wind is one of the cheapest forms of power it will significantly decrease the levelised cost of green hydrogen. Increasing the rate of deployment of offshore wind should also be prioritised (fixed and floating).
• It will be important for the grid reinforcement program to be rapidly accelerated and for the contribution of electrolysers to managing the grid, and related business models, to be properly set out to prevent unintended consequences.
• We must ensure that the projects in the pipeline from the Hydrogen Allocation Rounds 1 and 2 (HAR1 and HAR2) make it to Final Investment Decision (FID) and begin to produce hydrogen, otherwise confidence in the industry will decline. Various support mechanisms should be created to prioritise and manage the success of these projects.
• There is greater opportunity for hydrogen from wind in the areas of the country with lower population densities, such as the Scottish Highlands, central Wales and the English counties of Cumbria and Northumberland. Yet demand will likely be the opposite of this. It will be necessary to transport the molecules from these locations. This will require the necessary planning and infrastructure to match demand and supply.

The content of the study can form the basis for further policy development and energy systems planning in the UK. The study provided an overview on the enabling and constraining factors for the whole UK, with potential regions for further research identified. The results of this work will feed into the Catapult’s modelling tools.