- President Joe Biden’s administration is starting to lay the groundwork to safely scale up the volumes of hydrogen.
- It is to ensure that hydrogen is transported through pipelines and stored, possibly in blends with natural gas.
A recent news article published by Chris Knight in the Argus Media states that US to probe hydrogen transport in pipelines.
US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
The US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) plans to expand its research to look at the effects of hydrogen on pipelines and underground storage, according to a notice issued today. The research, set for discussion at a public forum on 1 December, comes as the administration looks toward hydrogen as a fuel that could be useful in hard-to-decarbonize industries such as heavy transportation.
“Hydrogen is one of the most interesting versatile energy sources of the future,” Deputy US energy secretary David Turk said yesterday. “It provides solutions not only for heavy duty-transport but for a variety of industrial applications.”
Greater use of hydrogen
The oil and gas sector has pushed for greater use of hydrogen as a way to meet its climate goals, but doing so requires bringing down its cost, producing it without releasing vast amounts of greenhouse gases, and finding a way to transport it safely.
But one of the challenges with hydrogen transportation is that at high concentrations and pressures, it can cause the metal to become brittle.
PHMSA to conduct further research
PHMSA wants to conduct further research into how hydrogen gas behaves in underground storage facilities, how it chemically reacts with nearby rocks, its leakage properties and potential effects on microbes.
Other research topics include how hydrogen and hydrogen-methane blends could affect in-line inspection tools used on pipelines, compressor station equipment and polyvinyl chloride pipes used in distribution systems.
Role of Democratic-led US Congress
The new research comes as the Biden administration works with the Democratic-led US Congress to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen. The vast majority of hydrogen produced in the US is derived from methane, a process scientists say is worse for the climate than just burning natural gas because of the extra energy required. Averting emissions will require capturing CO2 during the process, or producing hydrogen from renewable energy or nuclear power.
Democrats are considering a $3.5 trillion budget bill that offers tax credits for hydrogen that achieves lifecycle carbon emission reductions of at least 40pc compared to the conventional methane process. The tax credit would be $3/kg for hydrogen with a 95pc reduction in emissions down to 60¢/kg for a 40-75pc emission reduction.
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Source: ArgusMedia
