Several studies on the technical and financial aspects of repurposing existing gas infrastructure for hydrogen have concluded that there is no indication that a large-scale pan-European hydrogen network would be justified, notes the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) in a position paper published on 16 July.
Analysing 24 studies by various stakeholders (gas industry, public institutions, hydrogen industry, academics, think tanks, etc.), this paper highlights the existence of “divergent visions of the future extent of pure hydrogen networks”, ranging from a large-scale pan-European transmission infrastructure to regional cluster systems, handling hydrogen supply and demand in geographical proximity.
It added: “Several studies conclude that, based on industrial hydrogen demand, technology and cost assumptions, there is no indication that a large-scale pan-European hydrogen network would be justified”.
In addition, the redevelopment of natural gas infrastructure to transport pure hydrogen will have to meet certain conditions, ACER says.
These include: the presence of “parallel” lines in natural gas pipeline networks, so that at least one line can be converted back to pure hydrogen; ensuring security of supply of natural gas to consumers during the pure hydrogen conversion phase; and market uptake of hydrogen in the area serving a pure hydrogen corridor.
However, “It is uncertain when and where these conditions for repurposing would be met across Europe, and whether they will be met at all”, the regulators stress.
They therefore argue for a “cautious approach” in the implementation phase of the pure hydrogen corridors, with infrastructure upgrades to be triggered by convincing hydrogen market commitments and demand expectations.
Among other observations from its analysis, ACER notes that redevelopment does not generally present insurmountable technical challenges and is less expensive than building new hydrogen infrastructure “from scratch”.
For hydrogen transport, the studies reviewed show that distance and volume are the main factors determining the most cost-effective mode of transport.
On this basis, it appears that the transport of pure liquefied hydrogen by ship is not currently economically viable. “Shipping hydrogen as a constituent of ammonia appears to be considerably cheaper”, says ACER.
See the ACER document: https://bit.ly/36Nr9yV (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)