Scottish trial tests hydrogen in gas pipelines

A TRIAL is underway at Ineos’s Grangemouth site to help determine how existing natural gas networks can be repurposed for hydrogen. The trial is expected to bring hydrogen networks a step closer to reality in the UK.

Last month, SGN announced that it had secured £29.9m (US$36.9m) from energy regulator Ofgem to test high-pressure pipelines for hydrogen transmission and storage to enable net zero heating. SGN manages a network that distributes natural and green gas to 5.9m homes and businesses across Scotland and the south of England.

SGN will test the compatibility with hydrogen of a 29 km section of decommissioned pipeline between the Grangemouth site and Granton. Ineos Grangemouth is supplying hydrogen to the trial. Andrew Gardner, Chairman of Ineos Grangemouth, said: “We believe that Grangemouth is the ideal location in Scotland to create a hub for hydrogen production, use, and export.”

The present trial is in preparation for what SGN says will be a first-of-its-kind repurposing trial and demonstration in 2024.

Gus Mcintosh, Director of Energy Futures at SGN, said: “Our local transmission system is part of the national critical infrastructure that reaches millions of homes and businesses across the UK. So, repurposing it for hydrogen could support a hydrogen system transformation that is least cost and least disruptive to customers.”