Based on the opportunity described under Q2, there is a need to understand particular properties of each individual pipe joint within "target" pipelines, i.e. those pipeline segments which National Grid wish to repurpose for hydrogen transportation. The following Work Packages (WP) are envisaged during the three project phases:
Discovery
- WP1. This WP will establish the level and quality of relevant data/information that National Grid already holds, and the determination of key gaps in the data.
- WP2. To establish the ability of currently available ILI tools to obtain the data identified in (i) above.
- WP3. To define the requirements for a data management system to store, align and visualize the data required for integrity assessment and the required links for dissemination/sharing of agreed datasets to facilitate asset management activities.
- WP4. To outline a methodology that will permit National Grid and Cadent to rank the suitability of all their individual pipeline segments for potential repurposing to hydrogen.
Building on a successful Discovery phase, the key objectives of the "alpha Phase" project would be:
- WP1. Having identified gaps in the data requirements, the next step would be to determine how the necessary data can be acquired.
- WP2. Having identified the current status of ILI tool technology, this phase seeks to trial novel technologies and conduct preliminary studies to determine the feasibility of conducting "live" inspections. The use of data analytics/artificial intelligence for predicting possible anomaly populations will also be investigated.
- WP3. A specification will be developed and agreed between the project partners for the capture of the required datasets and a prototype data management system will be developed.
- WP4. A detailed suitability for conversion ranking protocol will be developed and applied to the entire NTS.
Building on a successful alpha phase, the key objectives of the "beta Phase" project would be:
- WP1. Conduct baseline ILI runs and produce associated ILI reports to acquire the data identified in the Discovery and alpha phases.
- WP2. Conduct studies and integrity assessments to determine any requirements for the safe repurposing of target pipelines and define the requirements for future integrity management under hydrogen operation.
- Upload the generated ILI datasets into the Data Management tool and transfer the agreed datasets to the National Grid "data lake".
An appropriate level of Project Management will be provided to plan and coordinate activities and collate/disseminate information between the project partners.
VIDEO - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFkFQX-oHxg&list=PLrMOhOrmeR6ktSag0RbT7zPNVn0p1P2f6&index=23
Problem Bring Solved
Hydrogen will play a significant role in the energy transition required to meet net zero emissions targets by 2050. To safely transport hydrogen from production facilities to end users, the options are new builds or repurposing of existing national and local gas transmission networks (NTS and LTS) for hydrogen operation. For economic reasons alone, it is clearly desirable to repurpose existing pipelines - indeed, it is anticipated that up to 80% of the existing system could be repurposed. However, the NTS and LTS systems were designed and built to transport an essentially inert gas -- methane. Hydrogen, however, is known to be deleterious in relation firstly to its potential degradation of material properties, and secondly its effect on pre-existing anomalies. Consequently, before repurposing any pipelines to hydrogen, there is a requirement for the gas networks to have improved understanding of their pipeline assets with emphasis on the determination of material type and possible crack-like anomaly populations. In addition, detailed integrity assessments will be required to determine their suitability and to identify any remedial actions that must be performed before repurposing can be safely undertaken.
Given the length of individual pipeline segments (typically 40 miles), in-field examination is unfeasible. The overall aim of this project is therefore to define and gather the data necessary to conduct the integrity assessments required to facilitate safe repurposing of pipelines from natural gas to hydrogen operation. It is anticipated that data gathering will include running non-destructive examination (NDE) devices (i.e. in-line inspection -- ILI -- tools, or "pigs") in "target" pipelines to obtain the necessary information. Such inspections will gather huge amounts of data and therefore another goal of the project will be to develop a Data Management system to store, align and visualize data from these inspections, together with other relevant asset data. The system will be set up so that relevant data sets can be transferred to National Grid in a format suitable for further integrity management/data analytics studies.
In response to Question 3 below, the Project Partners summarize the Work Packages (WPs) which they intend to conduct during the Discovery, alpha and beta phases to provide overall context to the bid. The Discovery phase essentially looks to answer the question, "Where are we now and what gaps in knowledge are there?", the alpha phase would then develop a plan to fill the gaps and the beta phase would then execute the plan.
Impacts and benefits
Potential Net Benefits:
There are clear major cost savings in repurposing existing pipelines as opposed to the design and construction of new pipelines, together with reduced environmental footprint. The benefit of transporting hydrogen as opposed to methane for industrial and domestic usage will clearly provide a significant reduction in the amounts of CO2 discharged into the atmosphere.
The benefits accrued by developing an ILI/data management system on behalf of National Grid and Cadent can be applied to other gas distribution networks looking to repurpose pipelines for hydrogen transportation. Conversion of pipelines to hydrogen operation as part of the energy transition will in turn lead to continued employment for National Grid Gas Transmission and Gas Distribution Network personnel, and associated gas industry service providers.
Collecting, storing and aligning robust pipeline data for the purposes of to help both National Grid and Cadent to maintain their enviable safety record by providing the framework to safely manage high pressure hydrogen networks -- this will provide increased confidence in the use of hydrogen over fossil fuels and will therefore help to reduce the gas network's carbon footprint.
With respect to consumer impact, the results of the project provides a critical
input to the development of a long-term integrity management plan for high pressure hydrogen transportation, leading to increased security of supply to National Grid and Cadent customers. A secure source of hydrogen can become a critical component of future whole energy systems by providing the flexibility to cope with intra/inter day swings in energy demand. This is particularly important, given that there is a clear desire of consumers to utilise gas for heating and cooking.
Project Changes:
There were no significant changes to the project during delivery, from the original application. During the project there was inclusion of a new additional activity, above what was outlined in the application, that would have used a recent uprating project as a case study for effort to collect pipeline data, however this was not feasible and shall be covered in the alpha phase of this project. However as described, this wasn’t intended in the original application anyway.
