Delgaz Grid, the natural gas and electricity distribution company within the E.ON Romania group, is starting this month a pilot project to test the compatibility and operation of the use facilities and distribution system components with a mixture of natural gas (NG) and hydrogen (H2).
The project will run from November 2022 to October 2024 and aims to analyze and demonstrate that it is technically possible and safe to add 20% hydrogen by volume to distribution networks and utility facilities of existing natural gas in Romania.
The purpose of the project is both to analyze the compatibility and behavior of the elements of the distribution networks selected in the pilot project, respectively of the related installations/appliances, to the mixture of GN-20% vol. H2, and to evaluate the possibility of their conversion to the GN–H2 mixture.
Consumer utility installations (pipes, utility devices, etc.) and distribution system components (pipes, connections, fittings, fittings, regulators, meters, etc.) will not be modified for this process.
The results of the project will serve as a model of good practice for future projects and for the use of hydrogen in various fields (including for heating, domestic hot water preparation and food).
“We believe that green gases like hydrogen can be an integral part of a successful and sustainable energy transition. That’s why, through this project, we want to demonstrate the value of distribution networks as a key energy infrastructure for an energy supply without CO2 emissions,” says Cristian Secoșan, the general manager of Delgaz Grid.
The project will be carried out in two stages. In the first stage, the company will carry out tests in its own training ground in Mediaș. The tightness of the various components of the network, the combustion and other parameters of the various types of appliances using natural gas, namely heating plants, convectors, stoves, etc., from different manufacturers, will be tested. At the same time, the behavior of the GN-H2 mixture of the steel and polyethylene network sections in the polygon will be analyzed.
The second stage has two phases and will be carried out on steel and polyethylene network sections, selected for this project, to which customers are connected. In a first phase, tests will be carried out regarding tightness, combustion, etc. on existing installations and user devices at customers connected to these networks. During this phase, no hydrogen will be injected into the selected distribution networks. In the second phase, mixture tests (GN – 20% vol. H2) will be carried out to analyze the behavior of both the selected network elements and the installations and consumer devices.
It will be ensured, in advance, to inform the customers and obtain their acceptance for carrying out the tests on the installations/devices used in the property.
“In addition to renewable electricity, the importance of hydrogen for the future carbon-free energy system is increasing. Therefore, it is important to move from theory to practice in Romania as well. This is exactly what we want to do in this pilot project,” added Dr. Cristian Călin, the project coordinator.
Delgaz Grid will benefit from the support of E.ON experts from Germany, where numerous such projects have been carried out. The company expresses its desire to collaborate in this project with institutions with attributions in the field and interested organizations, which can contribute with expertise and know-how.
The results of the pilot project will be made available to the competent institutions and other interested parties in Romania, for the development of preliminary technical regulations, for the conversion of existing networks to pure GN-H2/H2 mixtures, respectively for the construction of new distribution networks – “H2 ready”, based on the results of the pilot projects and preliminary regulations from Europe and Romania.