FGSZ, the owner and operator of the Hungarian high-pressure transmission natural gas pipeline system that serves gas distribution companies, power plants, and large industrial consumers, has commissioned DNV to assess the suitability of one of FGSZ’s pipelines for partial to full hydrogen transport.
The goal of this project is to assess the suitability of FGSZ’s DN600 system for hydrogen transportation, which consists of a DN600 pipeline and a valve station. FGSZ has created various scenarios to evaluate the implications of replacing natural gas with up to 100 percent gaseous hydrogen.
With the European Climate Law, the EU has set a binding target of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 as part of the European Green Deal. The EU Hydrogen Strategy, in this context, provides guidelines and actions for launching the hydrogen economy. FGSZ is contributing to this strategy by investigating the transportability of hydrogen and hydrogen mixtures in Hungary’s natural gas system.
Indeed, 78% of senior energy professionals believe that repurposing existing infrastructure, such as the FGSZ system, will be critical to developing a large-scale hydrogen economy. According to DNV’s recent report, Rising to the Challenge of a Hydrogen Economy, which examines the outlook for the emerging hydrogen economy from production to consumption.
The natural gas transmission system has been in place in Hungary for over 70 years, with a total length of 5,874 km of long-distance pipeline system. In terms of volume, the pipeline system – when fully loaded – can cover Hungary’s gas demand for one day during the coldest winter.
“Hydrogen will play a key role in deeply decarbonizing Europe’s gas transportation industry and contributing to the European Union’s targets for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. We are delighted to secure this project with FGSZ and support them in navigating the risks and opportunities of the energy transition, ultimately accelerating the supply of decarbonized gas to their customers. This is an important step for FGSZ, and for Hungary, in contributing to the EU climate neutrality target by 2050,” said Prajeev Rasiah, Executive Vice President for Energy Systems, Northern Europe at DNV.
“The project involves DNV energy experts from the Netherlands and Germany, investigating the potential of hydrogen transportation options through the DN600 pipeline utilizing expertise in pipeline material, safety, integrity, and pipeline inspection. It’s pleasing to see that the experience we are bringing from previous hydrogen studies in the UK, The Netherlands and Italy is really valued by FGSZ,” added Victoria Monsma, Pipeline Integrity Specialist, who is actively involved in this project.
