Home gas leaks double when hydrogen added – lab tests

• Home gas leaks double when hydrogen added – lab tests
• Claimed climate benefits of hydrogen in homes challenged
• Further blow to fossil gas industry already accused of misleading customers

Leaks more than doubled, on average, when best-selling models of cooking hobs were supplied with a hydrogen blend under normal household conditions, compared to tests using regular fossil gas. The same test on household boilers saw leaks rise by 44% on average [1].

Over the course of a year, applied to all homes in the European Union using fossil gas, the leakage would amount to the equivalent of at least 574,538 tonnes of CO₂ in the atmosphere per year, or the climate emissions generated by at least 300,000 cars [2]. This comes on top of the leaks that occur normally with household fossil gas networks, especially with older appliances and homes.

The study is the first to quantify leaks of hydrogen admixtures from domestic appliances [3]. It was carried out by a UK certified lab for the non-profit ECOS – Environmental Coalition on Standards.

It had been claimed that adding renewable hydrogen would cut the climate impact of burning fossil gas by up to 7%. This helped justify domestic and other hydrogen initiatives across Europe. Portugal already requires at least 1% gas blending in its national network. But the climate benefit is wiped out if leaks amount to just 0.7% of gas burned by the average appliance, which is likely in most homes on most days, the lab tests say.

Earlier research for the UK government suggests there will be around four times more fires or explosions in homes if hydrogen replaces methane. Leaks are sure to rise further if distribution networks increase pressure to offset hydrogen’s much lower energy density. Research published by the US government found that leak rates double when pressure was raised to handle a 30% hydrogen mix.

Despite the concerns, some industry actors continue to promote hydrogen beyond what ECOS considers realistic. Some distributors claim that a quarter of European gas networks will be ready to carry pure hydrogen by 2035 and the rest by 2040. National distributors across Europe [4] are also upbeat. European boilermakers across Europe [5] label their goods as certified ‘hydrogen ready’, calling the gas the “heating solution of tomorrow” or “the fuel of the future” and a “logical step”. Some suggest hydrogen is already being distributed nationally, while a few confidently claim hydrogen will be widely adopted by 2050. Others promote their products as a sensible choice to “be ready” for the future. Some even claim that installing their ‘hydrogen ready’ boilers will cut energy bills by at least 30%.

UK regulators last year accused manufacturers of “misleading” consumers over the inevitability of a hydrogen rollout. Promoting ‘hydrogen ready’ boilers could fool people into buying products that are “technically identical” to the ones they already own, the UK consumer protection agency said. It is cracking down on 13 manufacturers. Boilermakers “should be ashamed of themselves”, the UK parliament was told last month.

The EU still sees a “key role” for hydrogen in Europe, including for industrial uses, and is spending heavily to help the fossil fuel industry try to integrate hydrogen into the fossil gas networks. In November, it published a list of 68 hydrogen projects worth more than €50 billion in taxpayer handouts, to be built and run by firms including RWE, Shell and BP. Hydrogen will make up over a third of the gas consumed by 2050, the EU predicts, with 10 million tonnes produced in the EU by 2030.

In November, an industry study found it would cost up to €703 million to prepare Spain’s gas network for 20% hydrogen, mostly to upgrade compressor stations, but not replacing household appliances. Based on those figures, the European Union faces a bill of €6.9 billion, ECOS calculates [6].

ECOS Programme Manager Marco Grippa said: “Renewable hydrogen may likely help us decarbonise heavy industry, international shipping, and long haul flights, but with its long list of health, safety, environment, and cost problems, it has no place in our homes. Why focus on this unworkable solution when there is already a clear winner? Electricity powered heat pumps and induction cooktops are the cleaner, healthier, and safer alternative to gas in domestic settings.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

The reports are published here.

[1] The tests were carried out by UK accredited lab Enertek International, which tests for governments, manufacturers and others. It purchased new appliances from large retailers in September 2023. Leaks were measured through loss of pressure, with the gas quantified as mass in grams. Tests were run cold (appliances off at room temperature) and hot (appliances used to warm up, then tested while off). Only cold results are presented in this press release, because they are lower / more conservative and because the gas appliances are cold most of the time. On average, the hobs lost 1.1 millibar per hour for methane gas and lost 2.7 millibar/hour for a blend of 20% hydrogen and 80% methane (2.4 times faster). On average the boilers lost 2.7 millibar/hour for methane and 3.8 millibar/hour for the hydrogen mix (1.44 times faster), more than double the rate of hobs. A lab report is available here. Just 6 models were tested by Enertek and the study is not peer reviewed.

[2] Calculated by adding together the average leak rates of the gas cookers and boilers multiplied by the number of households using those appliances, multiplied by the global warming potential of the leaked gas. The annual emissions of CO₂ per automobile is determined by the quotient of emissions from automobiles divided by the registered number of automobiles.

[3] The closest comparable studies are by TNO and Stanford/PSE. Neither quantified leaks from hydrogen mixing.

[4] In Germany, the H2vorOrt project is planning a “comprehensive transformation of gas distribution networks” to hydrogen, with regional pilots planned from 2030. In Spain, the government recognises the potential for domestic hydrogen in its Hydrogen Roadmap. In Italy, hundreds of thousands of Italian homes now have hydrogen gas metres, according to one gas supplier, so that “when the hour X strikes these users will already be ready for reconversion.” Another, which received public funding to prepare for hydrogen, says hydrogen will be “accessible to all by 2050, with an even lower cost to that of natural gas.” Another is readying its 75,000 kilometre network for hydrogen and is developing a mass market hydrogen gas metre. In the Netherlands, the National Hydrogen Programme sees the gas as an option to help heat entire municipal areas after 2030. Gas companies want to control that supply. Energy companies are trying to position the Netherlands as a hydrogen leader. In the UK, a large supplier is promoting a “big switch to hydrogen”, suggesting it could enter the gas networks nationally from 2028.

[5] In Germany, boilermakers are calling hydrogen a “heating solution of tomorrow” and “transformational”. One manufacturer says all its models are approved to use 20% hydrogen and promotes hydrogen heavily on its website. Its parent company has advised customers to have hydrogen-ready boilers “now” to “keep your generator when the gases circulating in the networks change.” Another firm promises 100% H2-ready domestic boilers this year that run on methane, but are a safe bet for buyers who will be “well prepared if their gas supply is switched to hydrogen”. Another says many of its boilers are hydrogen ready and a good alternative to heat pumps. A French manufacturer talks of “the hydrogen future” and says its newest models are suitable for 100% hydrogen and compatible with the Gebäudeenergiegesetz law, though elsewhere it clarifies that “Devices manufactured from January 1, 2024 can even be converted to 100% hydrogen” from 2026. “So far, an admixture of 10% hydrogen in the natural gas network has been permitted in Germany,” it said. In Spain, one firm sells a ‘hydrogen ready’ boiler, calls hydrogen “the fuel of the future” and suggests EU policies mean it will be widely used by 2050. Another says its newest models are ‘hydrogen ready’ and could cut energy bills by 35%. It claims that EU policies will see hydrogen introduced at up to 20%, rising to 100% by 2050. Another says hydrogen is a “logical step” and promotes its 20% hydrogen boilers prominently. It will launch 100% hydrogen boilers in 2025, when it expects “more regional gas networks exclusively distributing hydrogen to homes”. It says its boilers can already run on up to 30% hydrogen and are “future proof”. Another says gas will be 20% hydrogen within 15 years and widespread by 2050, asking “are you prepared for the energy transition?”. In France, boilermakers say gas is in a “transition phase”. One claims its newer boilers can use hydrogen and “the current 10% hydrogen mixture”. It says a 100% hydrogen boiler is going through field trials in France. Another says all its boilers can use 20% hydrogen without modifications and urged customers to install one “now”. Another states we are in a “transition phase from natural gas to hydrogen”, says its boilers can already use 20% hydrogen and 100% by 2025. Another claims that its newer models can use a hydrogen mix. It had planned that all boilers would be 20% ready by 2023, plugged in to a “European H2 network by 2040”. It made hydrogen a priority at CES 2024. Gas supplier Engie promoted a trial involving hundreds of homes with h2 blend for heating, saying “Hydrogen is now coming to both homes and businesses”, helped by €2.5 million in public funds. Another says “several gas suppliers have already started to inject hydrogen into their networks” in an article that implies all gas is already 10% hydrogen and expected to reach 20% by 2030. In Italy, boilermakers are also betting big on a move away from methane, saying “we are determined to prepare the Italian market for the upcoming hydrogen era”. A major manufacturer present in Italy has advised customers to have hydrogen-ready boilers “now” to “keep your generator when the gases circulating in the networks change.” Another devotes its homepage to hydrogen. All its boilers can use 20% hydrogen, it says, a claim matched by another firm. In the Netherlands, boilermakers promote hydrogen prominently on their websites and point to multiple home trials, but are relatively modest compared to their claims in other countries. One says all its models are ready to use 20% hydrogen and “important” 100% hydrogen boilers were planned for late last year. Its parent company has advised customers to have hydrogen-ready boilers “now” to “keep your generator when the gases circulating in the networks change.” Another says hydrogen is a “logical step” and electrifying heating without hydrogen is “unthinkable”. It says its boilers can already run on up to 30% hydrogen and are “future proof”. Another urges customers to “be ready” for hydrogen with its 20% hydrogen ready boilers that are “future proof”. Another trumpets hydrogen on its homepage and says Dutch boilers are ready for hydrogen. In the UK, firms “often advise customers to install hydrogen-ready gas boilers” auditors say. One has been accused of “cynical” hydrogen marketing techniques.

[6] Gas consumption and infrastructure are both factors in overhaul costs. Spain’s network is 10.9% of Europe’s total length. It used 9.5% of all gas consumed in the EU in 2022. The combined average is 10.2%. Taking the €703 million investment in Spain as 10.2%, the EU as a whole faces a crude overhaul bill of €6.9 billion.