Today (4th July 2019) sees the opening of a unique
hydrogen testing facility at the HSE Science and Research Centre in
Buxton.
H21, the world's largest project to reduce carbon emissions, is
opening the first ever testing facility for 100 per cent
hydrogen.
Funded through Ofgem's Network Innovation Competition, the
project is led by Northern Gas Networks (NGN), the gas distributor
for the North of England, in partnership with Cadent, SGN and Wales
& West Utilities, HSE's Centre for Energy and DNV-GL.
It seeks to establish if a hydrogen gas network is equally as
safe as the natural gas grid. The results will be critical in
determining if it is safe to convert millions of homes across the
country from natural gas to hydrogen.
HSE's Science and Research Centre is the first research facility
in the world to carry out testing of existing network assets with
100 percent hydrogen. The specially designed rig will explore
how hydrogen behaves on a variety of assets such as pipes, valves
and joints compared with the behaviour of natural gas.
All the safety evidence collected during the experimental trials
will assist the government in progressing towards a policy decision
on hydrogen by the mid 2020's.
Andrew Curran, HSE's Chief Scientific Adviser, said: "We are
pleased to be part of the H21 programme, and in particular, that we
are housing this new specialist facility here in Buxton. We are
sure this will become a key component in providing the evidence
which will enable hydrogen to become a safe, clean and resilient
component of our approach to achieving zero-emissions by 2050."
