Hydrogen production impacts for drought resilience planning

A reliable water supply and a successful energy transition are two necessary conditions for a sustainable future. Yet we know little about how the switch to intermittent renewables (wind, solar) for our energy supply will affect the future operation of our water infrastructure. The time for planning for this is now: unpreparedness in the face of energy supply fluctuations has wide-ranging economic impacts, as demonstrated by the current cost-of-living crisis.

Hydrogen (and in particular green hydrogen, produced from renewable energy sources) is touted as a potential low-carbon solution for heating and hard-to-decarbonise sectors. Current plans for choosing hydrogen production sites prioritise places where connection to the grid would be easiest, with little consideration for the large quantities of water this production requires. This risks exacerbating drought risk in comparatively water-poor regions of the UK, such as East and South-East England.

What will you do as a PhD student?

In this project, you will be part of a team including internal and external collaborators, both from academia and industry. You will build on cutting-edge water and energy system modelling tools to explore how hydrogen production could be made compatible with water security. You will use water system modelling to understand what water infrastructure is likely to be required to sustain both potable water supply and hydrogen production in the East of England. You will also analyse how nearby renewable energy sources can complement the power grid in supplying power to that water infrastructure. This will enable you to evaluate the feasibility of hydrogen production in the East of England under a range of climate change and energy transition scenarios, providing in the process insights and recommendations that will have value for drought resilience and energy transition planning.

Who are we looking for?

If you are passionate about drought resilience, the energy transition, or both, we would love to hear from you. This fully-funded PhD studentship is a unique opportunity to tackle both in the same project. It is ideal if you are a motivated applicant with a strong engineering or science background, and who is keen to develop a range of advanced analytical and transferable skills that are highly sought after both in industry and academia.

Academic qualifications: A good honours MEng / MSc degree with 2:1 or above in a science or engineering field, or equivalent qualification.

Project start date: 15 September 2024

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr Charles Rougé (c.rouge@sheffield.ac.uk) directly. Please note this project is only funded for home students (UK nationals or permanent residents).