GTI Launches HyBlend Project to Assess Hydrogen Compatibility of Pipeline Materials and Operations

By Brad Kramer January 7, 2022 View Profile

The Gas Technology Institute (GTI) announced on Jan. 6 a new project to assess the impact of hydrogen on existing natural gas pipelines.

GTI is bringing gas industry leaders and stakeholders to the table for a new research and development project that will address the technical barriers to blending hydrogen in natural gas pipelines at large scale.

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Led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory — along with participation from Sandia National Laboratories, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Energy Technology Laboratory — their two-year HyBlend project will assess hydrogen compatibility with pipeline materials and operations and deliver important information regarding long-term impacts.

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More than 30 stakeholders from industry, nonprofits and academia are supporting this government-private industry effort sponsored by DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. GTI is leading energy industry participation and bringing direct funding and in-kind cost share to add to $10 million in funding provided by the government.

Operations Technology Development (OTD) and Utilization Technology Development (UTD) — two global collaborations of leading natural gas utilities supporting research solutions for a wide range of challenges and changes for gas systems — are providing financial support.

Additional companies that have joined GTI to support the HyBlend project include Boardwalk Pipelines; ConocoPhillips Co.; Equitrans Midstream; Mears Group Inc., a Quanta Services company; PSE&G; Xcel Energy; ONEOK Inc.; Exelon Corp.; and GRT Gaz Research and Innovation Center for Energy (RICE), a European-based organization.

GTI is serving as an industry liaison and will play a key role in technical reviews as life-cycle analysis for carbon emissions reductions and a techno-economic analysis are performed to assess solutions for grid-scale hydrogen energy storage and transport. The results of this initiative will facilitate the development of publicly accessible tools that characterize the opportunities, costs, and risks of blending hydrogen in the natural gas pipeline network.