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

将氢气（H2）混合到现有的天然气管网中已被提出作为减少温室气体排放的策略。引入和促进氢气作为清洁燃料的吸收的最重要机会之一是现有的天然气基础设施，如不列颠哥伦比亚省5万公里的管道，氢气可以混合到天然气供应中；然而，行业、监管机构和政策制定者尚未批准确定氢气体积百分比的混合燃料。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，是氢气部署需要解决的关键障碍。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能源公司和加拿大天然气行业风险管理仪器的主要供应商之一Hetek Solutions Inc. （Hetek）之间的独特合作伙伴关系，旨在开发一种新颖的可扩展自动化测试平台H2LAB。对天然气中H2混合的性能和可行性进行了综合实验研究（H2体积为5 - 20%）。协调研究将整合混合质量、材料暴露、分离、燃烧和排放的研究，以确定可以安全注入天然气电网的% H2范围，以降低其碳强度和减少温室气体，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。并提供基于证据的政策建议，为FEI和BC现有天然气管道网络的耐久性和完整性提供整体公共安全信息。根据拟议研究确定的H2的最大安全百分比，该项目的成功完成估计将使BC省每年减少512,500吨二氧化碳当量（CO2e），其结果将直接有助于设计和实施基于ubc的建筑规模试验设施，用于研究2024年的H2混合。

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.