A successful 2% green hydrogen gas mixing trial has been successfully completed at the Briggs power station in North Lincolnshire. This is said to be the first occasion in which a green hydrogen and natural gas blend have been transported through infrastructure to power electrical generation in the UK. The trial was carried out by Centrica and British Gas to demonstrate the feasibility of hydrogen gas blends into existing UK infrastructure.
Across Europe several other separate hydrogen trials involving gas blending are on-going. Countries such as The Netherlands, Germany and Portugal are all in the process of using hydrogen in household appliances, experimenting with hydrogen gas blending in existing infrastructure or adapting existing infrastructure to transport 100% hydrogen in the near future.
Further details on of each trial has been released in a report by the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance in April 2025 titled: “Hydrogen-readiness of gaseous fuels distribution infrastructure and heating technologies in Europe.”
The European Clean Hydrogen Alliance was started in 2020 by the European Commission and is a collective organisation of over 1,700 members - all of whom are involved in the hydrogen market value chain including governments, private and public investors, research institutions and commercial enterprises.
The European Clean Hydrogen Alliance states its aims as to promote financial investment into hydrogen as well as stimulate hydrogen production and use within the scope of climate friendly boundaries. To achieve these goals the organisation has divided itself into three separate groups of focus:
-
hydrogen production
-
hydrogen transmission, distribution, and storage
-
hydrogen end-use
The first trial refers to “Hydrogen City,” a project that is located in Stad aan ‘t Haringvliet, situated on the island of Goeree-Overflakkee in The Netherlands. The local community has voted to stop using natural gas as a primary fuel and will instead use locally sourced green hydrogen.
In between 2025 and by the latest 2030 all existing gas infrastructure will be repurposed to transport hydrogen into every domestic and commercial property within the municipality.
Portugal’s leading gas operator Floene has begun a 12% green hydrogen natural gas blend project in Seixal, a city near Lisbon. Newly constructed infrastructure will carry green hydrogen to the local transmission network where a blended mix of green hydrogen and natural gas will be fed to 80 residential, commercial and industrial end users.
By 2030 the Portuguese government is aiming to provide a 15% green hydrogen natural gas mix in all domestic supplies.
A German project – H2Direkt is led by energy providers Energie Sudbayern, Energienetze Bayern and utility consultants Thuga. 10 private households and 1 commercial customer have been receiving 100% hydrogen since 2023 in the Bavaria region.
The original test schedule finish date has been recently extended and will go beyond the current year. Initial results of the test indicate that even when exposed to temperatures of -15°C the entire hydrogen infrastructure and the hydrogen heating systems were reliable.
Hydrogen has been identified as a potential gaseous component of the global energy transition. As demonstrated by the four UK and European examples of hydrogen blending and 100% hydrogen usage in this article, progress is being made in highlighting the potential operational value of hydrogen introduction.
Rinnai will continue to update all UK customers with information pertaining to multiple energy platforms that could affect customer energy and appliance options. Rinnai regularly reviews all international news relating to energy policy, investment and technological ingenuity.
