Safe transport of hydrogen

Safety is a critical issue when transporting flammable gases like hydrogen. The safety risks associated with transporting hydrogen are similar to those associated with natural gas, and that has been transported for decades in the Netherlands through one of the world’s most reliable and safest natural gas networks. Gasunie has a long history of laying and operating natural gas pipelines and transporting natural gas.

Over the coming years, Gasunie will use all our knowledge and experience to create a national hydrogen network that is at least as safe as the current natural gas network. This will mainly involve using existing natural gas pipelines, which will be adapted to transport hydrogen with relatively few changes. In this way, we will enable an efficient transition from natural gas to hydrogen. Hynetwork (a wholly owned subsidiary of Gasunie) will develop the Dutch hydrogen network.

In recent years, several international studies and trials have been conducted into reusing existing natural gas pipelines to transport hydrogen. One reason for this is that hydrogen molecules are smaller than natural gas molecules. As a result, components like seals and couplings require extra attention. In response to these investigations, many existing natural gas shut-off locations will be removed and replaced. Changes also will be made to other network components, like measurement and control equipment.

The studies also reveal that the designs of the current high-pressure natural gas pipelines are a good match for those of the new hydrogen pipelines to be built. Gasunie has already constructed one such new hydrogen pipeline in Emmen. And in Zeeland, a converted natural gas pipeline has been transporting hydrogen between Dow Chemical in Terneuzen and Yara in Sluiskil since October 2018.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management is responsible for setting safety standards for the hydrogen infrastructure. Research is underway to identify the risks and risk-reducing measures for this infrastructure, as was done for the current natural gas network. The ministry has published three fact sheets(in Dutch) about the safety of hydrogen (and hydrogen carriers). In short, hydrogen will soon not only be a sustainable resource, but also a safe alternative to fossil fuels and feedstocks.