Experts urge more research on hydrogen transportation via pipelines

Experts are calling for intensified efforts to enhance research on risk control for hydrogen transportation via pipelines in response to potential surges in China's production and consumption of this clean energy as the country works toward carbon neutrality.

Addressing the 8th China International Pipeline Conference and Exhibition of Technological Equipment and Achievements in Beijing on Wednesday, Jiao Fangzheng, chairman of the Chinese Petroleum Society, highlighted the increasing use of pipeline hydrogen transport as a key feature of the ongoing green and low-carbon transition in the international pipeline sector.

"With the continuous advancement of the Paris Agreement, the pipeline industry is accelerating its shift toward green and low-carbon practices. Hydrogen pipelines have become a strategic focus for European and American countries," he said.

The landmark 2015 Paris treaty aims to keep the global temperature increase this century to well below 2 C above pre-industrial levels, while pursuing efforts to limit it further to 1.5 C.

Hydrogen can be burned like oil or gas but releases only water and no carbon dioxide at all, making it a potential clean fuel of the future in the global climate process.

Jiao said currently, the planned hydrogen pipeline around the globe has exceeded 12,000 kilometers, with more than 5,000 km of pipelines solely for hydrogen transport under construction, he said.

The technology for blending hydrogen with natural gas in pipeline transport has been steadily advancing toward maturity, he said. This technology and the technology for pure hydrogen transport have been progressing in parallel.

Han Enhou, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, noted the rapidly growing demand for hydrogen pipeline transport as the production of this carbon-free gas continues to increase both globally and within China.

The global production of hydrogen is continuously increasing, with a sharp rise expected in the coming years. The anticipated consumption and production of hydrogen in China are also very high, he said.

He underscored the critical importance of pipeline for hydrogen transport in China, especially considering that, while clean energy primarily originates from the western regions, particularly the northwest, the majority of energy consumption in the country occurs in the southeastern coastal areas.

"For sure, a large amount of hydrogen needed to be transported in the country," he emphasized. "And the advantages of pipeline transportation for hydrogen are very clear. It provides continuous supply with very low costs."

Currently, however, the technology for such transport is not yet mature, although there have been many trials involving the blending of hydrogen with natural gas for transportation. "To some extent, its safety risk is still quite high," he said.

Han listed a series of major concerns for safe operation of such transport.

One of the concerns, for instance, is whether an evaluation is needed before a natural gas pipeline is repurposed to also transport hydrogen. "Will defects that arise during the operation of natural gas transport affect the hydrogen transportation process?" he asked.

Other issues that need further attention include how to conduct safety assessment for pipelines that transport hydrogen, determine the optimal hydrogen ratio in mixtures with natural gas, and calculate the remaining operational lifespan of the pipelines, he stated.

There is a lack of risk assessment techniques for pipelines transporting either pure hydrogen or hydrogen-natural gas mixtures, the academician said . Currently, no safety evaluation standards exist. Due to insufficient foundational research support, establishing such standards remains challenging.

"I hope companies in the sector could beef up researches to address these issues and ensure the safety of hydrogen transportation," he noted.