PIONEERING research is to be carried out to discover whether existing natural gas pipelines in the UK can be repurposed for hydrogen. The research is critical to understanding whether hydrogen can replace natural gas in the UK’s gas network and help to decarbonise heating.
INEOS will supply hydrogen to SGN, which will flow through a 30km decommissioned pipeline between INEOS’ Grangemouth refinery and Granton on the outskirts of Edinburgh.
Andrew Gardner, chairman of INEOS Grangemouth, said if the trial – the first of its kind – was successful, the Scottish petrochemicals site could become a hub for hydrogen production, use and export.
“Hydrogen gas behaves slightly differently from natural gas, so it is important to understand what is needed to repurpose the pipeline, and the wider 11,000km of local transmission system (LTS) pipelines throughout the UK, to carry hydrogen,” said Gemma Simpson, SGN Director of LTS Futures.
“SGN’s LTS Futures project combines a suite of laboratory and offsite testing in preparation for a live trial of the Grangemouth to Granton pipeline.”
In August, the energy regulator Ofgem approved the research to understand if the Grangemouth to Granton pipeline could be repurposed for the live trial.
“The offsite trials’ work will allow us to develop and test procedures for making new connections to the live trial pipeline,” said Gemma.
The project is currently developing evidence for the next stage.
If successful, SGN will be able to carry out a live trial next year, which will deliver a blueprint for repurposing the UK’s LTS network, driving decarbonisation and supporting SGN’s net zero goals.
Frazer Smith, Business Manager for INEOS FPS, said the trials were important.
“With the project programme concluding in 2025, vital learning and validation of the hydrogen evidence base will be available to support both Scottish and UK Government decarbonisation policy, including the UK Government’s heat policy decisions due for 2026,” he said.
SGN’s local transmission system is part of the national critical infrastructure that reaches millions of homes and businesses across the UK.
“We believe hydrogen has the potential to provide customers with a choice on how they heat their homes as part of a whole systems approach for decarbonising heat,” said Gemma.
The trial is the latest good news for the Grangemouth site.
Earlier this year, INEOS invited major engineering design contractors to tender for the next stage of its world-scale hydrogen production plant.
Once built, clean, low-carbon hydrogen will be used to power its processes and manufacture vital materials for a wide range of sectors, cutting emissions by more than one million tonnes of CO2 each year.
“We are determined to reduce our own emissions to net zero by 2045, create products that will help others reduce their emissions and play a leading role in a clean hydrogen revolution,” said Andrew.
The €1.2 billion investment by INEOS in blue hydrogen is allied to carbon capture technology.
Carbon captured during the process will be piped offshore and permanently stored in rock formations deep below the North Sea.
“We believe hydrogen has the potential to provide customers with a choice on how they heat their homes as part of a whole systems approach for decarbonising heat”
– Gemma Simpson, SGN Director of LTS Futures