Algeria is the first country in the world to consider exporting hydrogen through gas pipelines
Recently, in a move to overcome the European energy crisis, there has been increased talk of transporting hydrogen through gas lines, whether for storage or distribution, as an appropriate solution, especially in light of the global trend towards clean energy and a green transition.
Europe’s existing and consumed gas lines, as well as distribution networks that are vulnerable to waste during the journey of energy transformation and the elimination of fossil fuels, make the option of using them and recycling them for hydrogen transport more appropriate in terms of both investment value and environmental goals.
The trend of transporting hydrogen through Europe’s gas lines comes as the Old Continent has suffered a severe winter of gas and electricity shortages, and a geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine could affect Europe’s dwindling gas reserves to their lowest levels.
In light of studies that indicate the low cost of transporting hydrogen through gas lines in Europe compared to the development of electricity infrastructure, the question remains “Does this option turn into a global path, especially since there is a European experience, and an Arab experience-also – is still taking its first steps in this path?.
The importance of hydrogen through gas lines
To measure the size of the savings in investments if hydrogen is transported through gas lines and take advantage of the existing gas network to store and distribute hydrogen, a study prepared by the group “ready for hydrogen” compared this cost and the cost of developing the electricity infrastructure.
Blending hydrogen into the British Gas Network
The study of the “ready for hydrogen” group, which includes 90 gas distributors from 17 European countries, concluded that transporting hydrogen through European gas lines and investing in those networks saves an estimated 41 billion euros annually.
The study came to this conclusion after comparing the volume of hydrogen transportation investments through gas lines with the development of electricity infrastructure between 2031 and 2050, according to energy newsbase.
The group “ready for hydrogen” in its report issued to comment on the results of the latest study-the second report – to the importance of maintaining the gas infrastructure, as facilities that ensure the security of energy supplies and reliability, in case the production of renewable energy (solar and wind) is affected by weather disturbances.
Is it becoming a global energy transition solution
The Portuguese natural gas distribution company Ghalib, a member of the “ready for hydrogen” group, said that the results of the group’s study, by providing investment in gas lines and existing networks for the transfer of hydrogen approximately 47 billion US dollars annually, as a global solution for energy transition.
The company added that transporting hydrogen through large-scale underground gas lines would provide fast and long-term storage capacity, ensuring a continuous supply of energy.
Local gas networks play a role in facilitating the competitiveness of the hydrogen market, allowing it to reach consumers faster and at a lower cost, she said, stressing that the rapid and low-cost provision of hydrogen is a necessary step in the decarbonisation journey, which requires a strong presence of hydrogen and green methane.
The company, which covers natural gas distributions in 9 Portuguese concessions, confirmed the readiness of Portuguese and European distribution networks for the step of transporting hydrogen through gas lines, a technology that the company described as flexible and low-cost to achieve carbon neutrality.
European readiness
Citing the results of another study conducted for the Portuguese Association of natural gas companies in March 2020, Ghalib noted that leveraging gas infrastructure is an important path for Portugal’s energy sector to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
A natural gas pipeline project in Europe
Portugal’s total electrification route costs the country an additional 9 billion euros (more than.10 billion), compared to relying on a network of gas infrastructure lines.
Meanwhile, data showed that European readiness for the transition to 100% pure hydrogen transport was delayed”, with only 24% of European domestic hydrogen networks being ready for this step by 2035, and 67% by 2040.
The full use of pure hydrogen networks in Europe is delayed by nearly 20 years, delaying the energy transition and emissions reduction, according to a report by the Reedie for hydrogen group late last year.
At the time, the group confirmed that the transfer of hydrogen in 100% pure networks requires the first stage of integration through Gas Networks, explaining that the size of the merger will be within 20% in light of the reliance on the transfer of hydrogen through the current gas lines without making updates, and despite the decline of 20%, the group confirmed in its latest studies that it will save approximately 47 billion US dollars annually.
Britain is preparing to mix hydrogen into the gas grid by 20% from 2023
The option of transporting hydrogen through gas lines was not only of interest to the groups of representatives of European gas distributors, as the European Commission-the executive arm of the European Union – was interested in studying the options for switching to hydrogen with the help of the European Union Agency for cooperation of energy regulators “Acer”.
The agency has been exploring options for transporting hydrogen across Europe over long distances, applying the European Commission’s hydrogen strategy, and in July last year identified two options for implementing that strategy, either by building new pipelines carrying pure hydrogen or by transporting hydrogen through existing gas lines.
The agency has conducted several studies in collaboration with others and has recognized that gas lines and networks can be adapted and reused for hydrogen transportation, noting that it is not a major challenge and is less expensive than building new networks from scratch.
In parallel with this step, it is also possible to prepare for the transfer of pure hydrogen, but according to several conditions, including: the availability of parallel circular lines in gas network systems, to allocate at least one of them for the transfer of pure hydrogen.
In addition to ensuring the supply of natural gas to consumers during the transition to pure hydrogen, and ensuring that markets and demand in the region are absorbed for pure hydrogen, the agency said on its website
Exciting European experience
The transfer of hydrogen through gas lines in Europe has not been confined to studies, research and official and unofficial reports, as several European companies have embarked on the phase of practical application of this technology in an interesting step.
In November last year, 20 companies announced cooperation to create a network that would represent the “backbone” of hydrogen in Europe, from producing renewable energy for use in hydrogen production to transporting it.
Energy and gas companies representing several European countries participated in the project, including Italy’s Sanam, Spain’s inagaz and Germany’s opengrid.
The project is constructing large-scale solar power plants in sub-Saharan Africa to produce renewable energy that is used to separate hydrogen from water through electrolysers to produce green hydrogen.
Then comes the second phase of the project, during which hydrogen is transported through gas lines to the industrial heartland of Europe, in a network of lines stretching 198,500 kilometers, equivalent to 4 times the length of the equator, according to Reuters.
The companies, whose massive project aims to transport hydrogen through gas lines, said that the disposal of fossil fuels during the energy transition should not include gas infrastructure, as it can be repurposed to transport hydrogen.
Hydrogen versus Russian gas
The option of transporting hydrogen through gas lines may play a particularly important role now, as European countries seek to secure their energy supplies after a stormy winter in the last quarter of last year, which coincided with a significant rise in energy prices-especially gas – and supply shortages.
Beyond the extent of Europe’s readiness to implement this option, authorizing it (either formally or through NGOs and NGOs) coincides with a geopolitical crisis threatening the continent’s energy supplies, as the drums of war begin to ring between Russia and Ukraine.
Russian gas represents a strong source of supply to European countries, and in recent months witnessed an exchange of accusations between the Russian and European sides on the political recruitment of gas supplies, after Germany suspended the approvals of the Russian gas project “Nord Stream 2”.
Europe has been looking at other U.S. and Arab options to provide supplies after its gas inventories hit record lows.
The European interest in using hydrogen and its supply to be a clean energy source has multiplied significantly recently, under its green transformation strategy and carbon neutrality pathways.
Transportation of hydrogen through gas lines
In October last year, Algeria’s Minister of energy transition and renewable energies, Ben Attou Zian, said that his country could move to the option of transporting hydrogen through gas lines in the coming years.
He pointed out that this step is possible in light of the steps to meet the Algerian domestic demand for gas, by reducing imports to Italy by 25% and replacing it with green hydrogen.
In an interview with “energy” last month, Ben ATTO revealed that the gas lines and channels linking Algeria to Europe support the possibility of transporting hydrogen through them to the markets of the Old Continent, in addition to its marketing expertise in this field.
He added that Algeria’s renewable energy potential enables it to produce clean hydrogen at competitive prices and also transport it through gas lines at a safe limit of 10%.
