H2LAB: A laboratory for investigating hydrogen blending in natural gas from injection to combustion

在现有的天然气管网中掺入氢气(H2)已被提出作为减少温室气体排放的一种策略。引入和促进H2作为清洁燃料的最重要机会之一是现有的天然气基础设施，例如BC 50,000公里长的管道，在那里H2可以混合到天然气供应中；然而，没有得到行业、监管机构和政策制定者批准的按体积混合确定的%H2。要成功地将氢气整合到现有的天然气网络中，需要一种基于证据的方法。将氢气引入现有天然气网络的技术不确定性、对最终用户的潜在影响以及缺乏适用的规范、标准和法规是需要解决的氢气部署的关键障碍。这项拟议的研究是UBC工程学院、加拿大最大的私营天然气分销公用事业公司FortisBC Energy Inc.和加拿大天然气行业主要风险管理仪器供应商之一Hetek Solutions Inc.(Hetek)的独特合作伙伴关系，目标是开发一种新型的可扩展和自动化试验台，用于对天然气中混合氢气的性能和可行性进行综合实验研究(以体积计的氢气含量为5-20%)。协调研究将整合单一试验台上混合质量、材料暴露、分离、燃烧和排放的研究，以确定可安全注入天然气电网以降低其碳强度和减少温室气体的%H2范围，以评估可行性，为监管法规和标准(例如，气体安全法规)提供信息，并提供循证政策建议，向整体公众安全通报FEI和BC现有天然气管道网络的耐久性和完整性。该项目的成功完成预计将在卑诗省每年减少512,500吨二氧化碳当量(CO2e)，这是根据拟议研究确定的H2的最大安全百分比确定的，结果将直接有助于设计和实施2024年基于不列颠哥伦比亚省的建筑规模的H2混合研究中试设施。

Blending hydrogen gas (H2) into the existing natural gas pipeline network has been proposed as a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One of the most significant opportunities to introduce and boost uptake of H2 as a clean fuel is represented by the existing natural gas infrastructure, such as BC 50,000 kilometres of pipelines, where H2 can be blended into the natural gas supply; however, there is no determined % H2 by volume blend approved by industry, regulators and policymakers. An evidence-based approach is required to integrate H2 into existing gas networks successfully. The technical uncertainties of introducing H2 into the existing gas network, the potential impacts on end-users, and the lack of applicable codes, standards, and regulations are crucial impediments to H2 deployment that need to be addressed. The proposed research is a unique partnership between UBC School of Engineering, FortisBC Energy Inc., Canada's largest private natural gas distribution utility company, and Hetek Solutions Inc. (Hetek), one of Canada's premier suppliers of risk management instrumentation to Canada's natural gas sector, with the goal to develop a novel scalable and automated testbed, H2LAB, for conducting an integrated experimental study on the performance and feasibility of H2 blending in natural gas (for a range of 5 - 20% H2 by volume). The coordinated research will integrate the study of mixing quality, material exposure, separation, combustion and emission on a single testbed to determine the range of % H2 that can be safely injected into the natural gas grid to lower its carbon intensity and reduce GHGs to assess feasibility, inform regulatory codes and standards (e.g. Gas Safety Regulation), and provide evidence-based policy recommendations to inform overall public safety on the durability and integrity of FEI and BC's existing natural gas pipeline network. The successful completion of the project is estimated to reduce CO2 equivalent (CO2e) by 512,500 tonnes per year in BC, as determined by the maximum safe % of H2 determined by the proposed research, and the results will directly contribute to the design and implementation of a UBC-based building-scale pilot facility for the study of H2 blending in 2024.