SUMMARY

Two-year project will study hydrogen compatibility with gas pipeline materials and operations.

By Dale Lunan

Clean energy research organisation GTI said January 6 it would bring gas industry leaders and stakeholders together in a new research and development project that would address technical barriers to large-scale blending of hydrogen into existing natural gas distribution systems.

Led by the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the two-year HyBlend project will assess hydrogen compatibility with pipeline materials and operations and deliver information regarding long-term impacts. 

Sandia National Laboratories, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the National Energy Technology Laboratory are joining more than 30 stakeholders from industry, non-profits and academia in the project. GTI will lead the energy industry’s participation and is contributing direct funding and in-kind cost sharing to add to the $10mn in government funding.

Industry participants include Boardwalk Pipelines, ConocoPhillips, Equitrans Midstream, Mears Group, Xcel Energy, ONEOK, Exelon, and Europe’s GRT Gaz Research and Innovation Center for Energy.