National Grid has signed up to trial a cutting-edge decarbonisation device as part of a world-first bid to boost the amount of hydrogen in the UK’s gas supply.
LOOP – developed by Cambridge-based climate tech business Levidian – uses plasma technology to separate methane into its constituent atoms: carbon, locked into high-quality graphene, and hydrogen, which can either be used immediately or stored for future use.
Backed by Network Innovation funding, the project could allow National Grid to reinforce parts of the gas pipe network by using graphene as corrosion-resistant internal coating, making it more able to carry increased quantities of hydrogen and less likely to crack.
Reinforcing the network using graphene – a honeycomb of carbon atoms so thin it is considered two-dimensional – could increase the country’s ability to transport and access clean hydrogen, allowing existing infrastructure to be repurposed, minimising disruption and making the switch to hydrogen easier for consumers and businesses.
As part of the LOOP process, the hydrogen-methane mix – produced alongside graphene – can be delivered in any proportion, including pure hydrogen, to match the capabilities of the network or combustion equipment it is supplying. The technology docks easily with existing energy infrastructure at any site in the world with a supply of natural gas, including industrial sites, large businesses, housing developments, hospitals or waste disposal facilities.
The trial follows ten years of research and development into hydrogen and graphene production from Professor Krzysztof Koziol, following the company’s spin-out from world-leading nanomaterial development labs at Cambridge University, focusing predominantly on graphene.