Baxi’s parent company, BDR Thermea Group, the manufacturer of smart indoor climate solutions, launches a world-first pilot using its 100% hydrogen boilers in 12 inhabited homes with hydrogen supplied via an existing natural gas grid.
hydrogen heating
The pioneering pilot in the eastern Dutch town of Lochem is the first time hydrogen heating is tested at this scale anywhere in the world.
The detached listed houses, all built around 1900, will each be equipped with one of the boilers, which burn pure hydrogen with zero carbon emissions. The hydrogen is fed into the existing gas grid at a nearby industrial zone.
extensive testing
The houses were deliberately chosen as older residential housing stock, with restrictions to the changes
A collaboration between BDR Thermea’s Dutch brand Remeha and grid operator Alliander, the pilot will run for three years, ensuring extensive testing in wintertime, when heat demand peaks.
The houses were deliberately chosen as older residential housing stock, with restrictions to the changes that can be made to them due to their heritage status.
Building decarbonization
Bertrand Schmitt, CEO of BDR Thermea Group, said, “Heating of buildings and water contributes significantly to energy use and CO2 emissions: space heating accounts for 63.6% and water heating 14.8% of EU residential energy use.”
“Decarbonising buildings is, therefore, an urgent imperative, and hydrogen is one of the key technologies to do this, alongside heat networks, all-electric heat pumps, and hybrid solutions that twin heat pumps with gas boilers.”
Hy4Heat program
Baxi's boilers are also being used for the world’s first green hydrogen-to-homes heating network pilot
The landmark pilot builds on a raft of exploratory projects involving Baxi and the wider BDR Thermea Group. Baxi is currently participating in the Government-funded Hy4Heat program, which sees the manufacturer showcase prototype hydrogen boilers at the UK’s first 100% hydrogen public demonstration in Low Thornley, near Gateshead.
Meanwhile, its boilers are also being used for the world’s first green hydrogen-to-homes heating network pilot, involving 300 homes in Levenmouth, Fife, and are set to be used for the UK’s first ‘hydrogen village’ in Whitby, Ellesmere Port, in 2025.
installer-friendly home heating solutions
Karen Boswell, Managing Director at Baxi UK & Ireland, adds, “The pilot in Lochem demonstrates our ongoing commitment to exploring installer-friendly home heating solutions for the future in this case supplying hydrogen via the familiarity of an existing gas network.”
“We recognize the important role a hydrogen-compatible grid could play in decarbonizing UK homes and will use insights from this pioneering trial to accelerate that drive.”
Sustainability
A mix of heating technologies is the fastest way to cut natural gas consumption in 2030 by 45%
As part of BDR Thermea Group, Baxi is pioneering a greener future through a series of commitments to sustainability in addition to its pilot projects. The business has committed to be carbon neutral across its operations by 2025, while every product it manufactures from 2025 will work with low-carbon energy.
Recent research commissioned by the European Heating Industry and published by consultancy firm Guidehouse shows that a mix of heating technologies is the fastest way to cut natural gas consumption in 2030 by 45%, and would generate an aggregated cost benefit of over EUR 520 billion until 2050.
Heat pumps
Heat pumps play a key role in decarbonizing heating and are perfect for well-insulated houses and newbuilds.
Hybrids can reduce carbon emissions quickly in less-insulated existing buildings, reducing gas use by up to 70%. In time, renewable gases, such as green hydrogen, can cut the remaining gas use.
