
First Minister opens Scotland’s first hydrogen homes
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney has opened the country’s first hydrogen homes. The properties are part of SGN’s H100 Fife project, showcasing how hydrogen has the potential to reduce carbon emissions in households and businesses.
The demo homes in Levenmouth, on Fife’s east coast, prove how cooking and heating with green hydrogen is very similar to natural gas, using familiar boilers and hobs. Green hydrogen can be created using clean energy such as wind power.
H100 Fife will see up to 300 households switch to hydrogen for cooking and heating. Residents involved in the trial can now visit the demonstration homes to get hands-on experience, ahead of appliances being installed in their own homes later this year.
The First Minister opened the homes alongside SGN’s CEO Simon Kilonback and members of the community. Mr Swinney said: “These demonstration homes offer residents a glimpse of the role that hydrogen can play in delivering warm and comfortable homes with zero carbon emissions. I welcome this significant milestone in the project’s journey and look forward to its completion.”
Residents who have signed up for the project and those who live locally can visit the homes to see hydrogen boilers and hobs from Baxi, Worcester Bosch and Bosch Home Appliances. These are the appliances that will be installed in their own homes later this year.
Simon Kilonback said: “We believe H100 Fife can act as a catalyst for regional decarbonisation, positioning Scotland at the forefront of the transition to net zero.
“However, this project is also far more than just a hydrogen for home heating trial and will provide key evidence to support the development of the hydrogen economy, whether that be production, storage, distribution or operations.”
SGN is partnering with Fife College to open the UK’s first hydrogen training facility in the coming months, just a mile away from the H100 Fife network in the college’s Levenmouth campus. Gas Safe engineers in the region will be upskilled at the facility on how to fit new hydrogen appliances and connect homes to the new 8.4km hydrogen network.