The first pilot program in history to heat homes with hydrogen boilers was carried out in the Dutch town of Lochem.
The initiative, presented by BDR Thermea and Alliander, the Dutch electricity network manager, will last three years and has been installed in 12 inhabited houses in the city. These domestic boilers are 100% fueled by hydrogen and are connected to the natural gas network.
They are carbon neutral and were manufactured by Remeha, a brand belonging to the BDR Thermea group, and installed by Baxi, another subsidiary of BDR Thermea. It is the largest hydrogen home heating installation ever and has been used to demonstrate that the heating technology can be installed in older homes that are restricted due to their heritage status. The project will include extensive testing during the winter months when heating demand is highest. This pilot project is part of a wider effort by Baxi and BDR Thermea, which is also participating in Hy4Heat, a UK government-funded initiative to demonstrate prototype hydrogen boilers.
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Hydrogen Boilers Heat Homes in First-Ever Pilot Program
Domestic boilers, powered by 100% hydrogen and connected to the natural gas network, have been used for the first time in a pilot program to provide energy to homes.
The pure hydrogen boilers are carbon neutral and were manufactured by Remeha, a brand belonging to the BDR Thermea group, and implemented by Baxi, another subsidiary of BDR Thermea.
The program was launched in 12 inhabited houses in the Dutch town of Lochem. This is the largest domestic hydrogen heating installation ever built.
Built around 1900, all the houses were equipped with this advanced technology. It was a deliberate choice to demonstrate that the new heating mechanism could be installed in older homes which, as in this case, often have restrictions that limit what can be done there due to their heritage status.
The pilot project, carried out by Remeha in collaboration with Alliander, the Dutch electricity grid operator, will last three years and will include extensive testing during the winter months, when heating demand is at its peak.
Bertrand Schmitt, CEO of BDR Thermea Group, underlined the critical importance of decarbonising heating, exacerbated this winter by the disruption caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This was stated in a statement: “Building and water heating contribute significantly to energy consumption and CO2 emissions: space heating represents 63.6% and water heating 14.8% of energy consumption. residential energy in the European Union. The decarbonisation of buildings is therefore an urgent imperative, and hydrogen is one of the key technologies to achieve this, along with the heating network, all-electric heat pumps and hybrid solutions combining heat pumps and boilers.“.
This pilot project is just one part of a larger effort by Baxi and BDR Thermea.
What is a hydrogen boiler
A hydrogen boiler is a type of heating system that uses hydrogen as fuel to heat water and provide heating for a building or home. The hydrogen is burned in a burner and produces heat, which is transferred via a heat exchanger to the water in the heating system. The hydrogen boiler is fueled with pure hydrogen or a mixture of hydrogen and another gas, such as natural gas. Hydrogen boilers are a sustainable, carbon-free option for heating homes and buildings because the only product of hydrogen combustion is water vapor. However, they are still under development and are not as common as natural gas or electric boilers.
Via www.remeha.de
