Hydrogen Supply in City Gas Pipelines... Accelerating Carbon Neutrality

KOGAS Advances Hydrogen Blending Demonstration
Annual Reduction of 3.55 Million Tons of Greenhouse Gases

A view of the headquarters of Korea Gas Corporation located in Dong-gu, Daegu Metropolitan City. (Photo by Korea Gas Corporation)

Korea Gas Corporation has decided to proceed with a demonstration project for 'hydrogen blending,' which supplies hydrogen using city gas supply pipelines. This is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with international standards and to comply with the government's carbon neutrality policy. The government aims to reduce carbon emissions by 7.5 million tons through commercializing 20% hydrogen blending by 2026.

According to the Gas Corporation on the 12th, the hydrogen blending project involves mixing hydrogen with city gas in the city gas pipelines. It means installing hydrogen blending facilities at pressure regulation stations of the Gas Corporation or general city gas operators and supplying hydrogen and natural gas to users through the city gas pipeline network.

By blending hydrogen into city gas pipelines, gas consumption decreases, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Korea's annual natural gas consumption is 40 million tons, and the Gas Corporation analyzed that blending hydrogen at 10 vol% (vol%: the volume ratio of a specific substance in the total space) can reduce natural gas consumption by 1.29 million tons annually. This corresponds to a reduction of 3.55 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

Hydrogen blending is considered an efficient hydrogen supply method to activate the hydrogen economy before dedicated hydrogen pipelines are established. By utilizing the city gas pipeline network connected nationwide to supply blended hydrogen, all devices using city gas?including residential gas boilers, gas ranges, industrial boilers, and gas turbines for power generation?can use hydrogen together.

Major overseas countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany are also conducting demonstrations for hydrogen blending in city gas. The United States started research at the end of 2020 on hydrogen compatibility and lifespan analysis of natural gas pipelines through the 'HyBlend Project,' and the UK and Germany are also conducting R&D aiming to gradually blend hydrogen up to 20% in city gas pipelines.

Chae Hee-bong, President of Korea Gas Corporation, said, "To proactively respond to the global carbon neutrality policy, we are securing core technologies such as importing overseas green hydrogen, large-scale hydrogen storage, and hydrogen blending in natural gas pipelines," adding, "We are making strides to play a role across the entire hydrogen industry value chain, including establishing hydrogen production bases and charging stations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.