1 Spatial hydrogen infrastructure development in a low carbon UK energy system

In response to climate challenge, the UK Government adopted a 60 % CO2 reduction target from 1990 levels by 2050 (DTI 2003). The same document specifies that these reductions should be achieved without hampering the competitiveness of the economy, reliability of energy supplies and fuel affordability. In this regard, hydrogen (H2) infrastructures and technologies offer the possibility of deep cuts in CO2 emissions as well as contributing to security of supply objectives (DfT 2004). Moreover, they have the potential to make these reductions in sectors such as transport which have been shown to be hardest to decarbonise (IEA 2006). Hence, the aim of this paper is to explore what roles hydrogen can play in moving to a low carbon economy and in particular how H2 network might develop spatially as part of the future UK energy system. This study is carried out under a project funded by the Department for Transport’s Horizons Research Programme. In analyzing possible hydrogen pathways, a whole energy system view needs to be taken into account as H2 is not a primary fuel on its own; rather it competes with other parts of the energy system (Joffe and Strachan 2007). Also, unlike the gasoline/diese