Vollbrandt, Jonas (2023) Hydrogen as energy carrier in the built environment – Developing a decision-making model for a prioritization of neighbourhoods suitable for the application of hydrogen for heating purposes. Master thesis.
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Master thesis Jonas Vollbrandt (s3079465) public version.pdf Download (6MB) | Preview |
Abstract
In 2021, the built environment as an energy end-use sector accounted for around 14% of all energy consumption in the Netherlands with more than 90% of its heating provision based on the combustion of natural gas. While the increasing use of renewable energy sources and sustainable energy carriers calls for a transition in the socio-technical system characterized by an interrelation between socio-institutional and technical-spatial components, hydrogen as energy carrier is seen as a promising sustainable alternative in the heat transition of the Dutch built environment. Furthermore, while the existing gas distribution infrastructure on the local level has the potential of being repurposed for hydrogen transport, the spatial allocation of hydrogen as energy carrier for heating purposes is subject to uncertainty. Faced with a complex decision-making process involving many stakeholders and various considerations, the allocation of hydrogen becomes a spatial planning matter in which competing claims on scarce resources and limited spaced must be balanced. It is therefore important to identify relevant criteria on the local level that influence the decision where the application of hydrogen for heating purposes is most suitable. An understanding of both the potential position of hydrogen as energy carrier in the heat transition of the Dutch built environment and the technical fitness of the existing gas distribution infrastructure for transporting hydrogen is beneficial to develop the decision-making model. For this purpose, this study makes use of the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) approach employing a combination of interviews, a questionnaire and focus group. In total seven relevant criteria on the local influencing the decision regarding the allocation of hydrogen as energy carrier in the built environment have been identified. While all the criteria have an either explicit or implicit spatial component, the comprehensive spatial demarcation is not possible for all of them because of ambiguous definition or complex spatial composition. What is more important, the results showed that hydrogen as energy carrier will have an important role in the heat transition due its ability to compensate for the shortcomings of electricity and its grid, and that the existing gas distribution infrastructure is technically suitable for hydrogen transport. This research confirms the complexity stakeholders are faced with regarding sustainable energy planning in the built environment and the interrelatedness of the various components of socio-technical energy system. However, the development process shows that such a decision-making model can function as a good communication tool between stakeholders in order to stimulate knowledge exchange and reaching consensus on pertinent issues. It is recommended that identified shortcomings of the current approach for developing a heat transition map for the built environment should be resolved.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Degree programme: | Society, Sustainability and Planning (MSc Socio-spatial Planning) |
| Supervisor: | Kann, F.M.G. van |
| Date Deposited: | 21 Jul 2023 09:01 |
| Last Modified: | 21 Jul 2023 09:01 |
| URI: | https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4278 |
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