The UK has taken a small step towards a transition to hydrogen as a lower-carbon replacement for fossil fuels, with the natural gas supply at Keele University, near Stoke-on-Trent, being mixed with the elemental gas. The 20% hydrogen blend is a trial that will precede a wider roll-out of blending in the north of England, and is markedly higher than the 5%-10% trialled last year in Italy by Snam. Gas distribution firm Cadent, which is leading the Keele project, has said that if hydrogen at a 20% blend was rolled out across Britain, six million tonnes of CO₂ would be saved per year, but this is of course years away, if the current trials are successful. However, a ramping-up of hydrogen supply to domestic and commercial properties would significantly increase hydrogen demand, and spur cost reductions in production, and thus the current trial is highly important.