Fluxys launches pilot project for conversion of natural gas pipeline

Fluxys is starting a pilot project with British grid operator National Grid to convert old natural gas pipelines to the transport of hydrogen. Fluxys is the Belgian gas grid operator and member of the Hydrogen Industry Cluster, which is coordinated by Hydrogen Grid. At a test site in Spadeadam in the north of England, they are jointly investing 11.3 million euros in the construction of the mini-grid 'FutureGrid'.

Fluxys will gain important experience in the project for a future conversion of the natural gas grid to hydrogen. Works will start in 2021 allowing the first tests to take place in 2022. Suitable infrastructure for the transport of hydrogen is indispensable in the hydrogen projects in the pipeline. Large-scale electrolysis projects ('hydrogen plants') are expected in the coming years in the ports of the Benelux and elsewhere in Europe. Offshore wind energy will be converted into hydrogen which can then find its way to industrial users and transport applications. Pipeline transport will allow hydrogen to reach end-users in large quantities.

In addition to the construction of new pipeline infrastructure, the conversion of natural gas pipelines to the distribution of hydrogen is an option. Fluxys carried out a study into the transformation possibilities for the Belgian natural gas grid. Initial analyses show that this partial transformation is technically feasible with only limited interventions. With the pilot project in the United Kingdom, Fluxys intends to gain practical experience of the effects of different quantities of hydrogen on the existing infrastructure.

"The experiences from the project will also be important for the future hydrogen infrastructure in Flanders," says Adwin Martens, director of WaterstofNet. "Concepts are currently being developed to link the ports in Flanders via a hydrogen pipeline infrastructure, among other things. We are also actively working on connecting this network in Flanders with the Netherlands and Germany, so that we can become an integral part of the European hydrogen backbone".

Source: WaterstofNet