The use of hydrogen gas is often considered a key component in the current energy transition and could be used to make industrial production processes more sustainable. The increasing demand for hydrogen gas results in new challenges, questions, and opportunities, among which the transport of the gas.
SoluForce offers reinforced thermoplastic pipeline systems for the transport of oil and gas and has a pipeline system with a permeation barrier. To determine if this system is suitable for the transport of hydrogen, several of the material aspects of the system need to be considered and determined, the most important being the permeation processes and the chemical resistance of the materials.
Determining these properties requires testing and analyses, and becomes even more challenging when multilayer thermoplastic pipes for high pressure hydrogen applications are considered. This is where Kiwa comes in for testing and assurance.
Kiwa and SoluForce will present the case study of the use of SoluForce Flexible Composite Pipe for the transport of hydrogen at 42 bar(g) in the North of the Netherlands including a discussion on the full-scale permeation measurements of the pipeline system and the testing of the materials chemical resistance to hydrogen.
Hydrogen gas is expected a major player in the energy transition from fossil to renewable energy. Hydrogen is an energy carrier that can be made from renewable energy sources. Its application is in transport, industry, and the built environment. No wonder the interest in hydrogen is rapidly growing all over the world.
Hydrogen pipelines and networks are an economically interesting way to transport and distribute hydrogen gas. For distribution purposes, the use of plastic pipes over steel pipes is well established, and there are already plenty of feasibility studies to prove its compatibility with hydrogen at distribution level. [I] [II]
Mature and qualified products for high-pressure transport of fluids and gases in the oil and gas industry are spoolable reinforced thermoplastic pipes like flexible composite pipes. However, these pipes have not been proven for high pressure hydrogen applications yet. Using these kinds of pipeline systems could be a game changer for the construction of new networks for hydrogen gas.
