Project Summary

HyNTS Pipeline Dataset focusses on the development of a data assessment platform for hydrogen gas networks, determining the datasets required to repurpose natural gas assets in a timely manner. National Grid Gas PLC (GT&M) & Cadent own and operate gas transmission and distribution networks in the UK and are developing solutions for hydrogen injection into the gas networks. To uprate network assets today a detailed assessment of the assets is required, this is a time consuming and costly activity as our data is not always easily accessible. The project delivers against several of the challenge requirements with a key focus on how to improve the visibility of infrastructure and assets, for instance new digital infrastructure or novel uses of sensor and communications technologies. Further information on how we are aligning to the challenge can be found in the Additional Appendix in the Project Plan question.

Our approach not only considers the methods for gathering and collating data into easy to analyse datasets but also considers novel methods for collecting data in an accelerated timescale such as using novel In-Line Inspection (ILI) tools. Hydrogen impacts our network in a different way to natural gas, material type and <1cm defects that have no impact on network safety today, will need to be understood in the deployment of hydrogen.

The Discovery Phase determined the asset data requirements for the hydrogen transition and determined the gaps in current knowledge of our networks within four work packages (WP) relating to the status of current data availability, the ability of inspection technologies to gather additional data, investigation of a hydrogen conversion data management system and development of a hydrogen conversion suitability ranking system.

Discovery concluded that:

Many datasets that would be required for the transition were not readily available and easy to access.
Attainment of new data required such as <1cm defects and detailed material composition is feasible with inspection technologies and further work is required to understand the cost and applicability of these technologies.
Deployment of these technologies in a hydrogen environment would pose a challenge and needs further consideration in the Alpha phase.
The current GT&M system architecture is comprised of isolated components; a geospatially-aligned pipeline database with each physical component of the pipeline network represented as a single database object is our planned approach.
Data transformation will likely involve steps such as digitising existing physical archives and extracting key insights for an AI/ML enabling database.
The solution will provide accessibility to an extended asset dataset whilst enabling an accelerated assessment of network readiness for change. The data gathered with novel sensing solutions will build upon historic datasets and enable improved network planning.

Rosen are experts in the inspection and management of network data to determine asset state whilst Xoserve is the central data service provider for Britain's gas market together alongside stakeholders (HSE) they will ensure our project output is suitable for hydrogen ready assessments. The GT&M team will include our data departments to develop the requirements for the database system and methods for interacting with current systems. Rosen provide asset inspection to Cadent and GT&M today, the improved sensing system and data management will enable Rosen to provide an improved service whilst enabling the networks to better understand and extrapolate data for management of their systems.

The users of our innovation will primarily be the gas networks, however, improved access to asset data and capability will enhance interactions with regulators, suppliers, stakeholders, customers and the wider energy community. Through Discovery we have engaged with our internal stakeholders to understand the ILI and data processes in place today.

Innovation Justification

Hydrogen will play a significant role in the energy transition required to meet net zero emissions targets by 2050. To safely transport hydrogen from producers to end users, the options are to utilise new builds or repurpose existing National & Local Transmission System (NTS and LTS) pipelines. Economically, it's desirable to repurpose existing pipelines -- it's 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.

Gas networks are required to have improved understanding of their pipeline assets with emphasis on the determination of material type, possible anomalies, and the effect of Hydrogen on these prior to repurposing any pipelines. Detailed integrity assessments will also be required to determine pipeline suitability and identify any remedial actions that must be performed before repurposing can be safely undertaken.

Our approach in Alpha is innovative through the development of data systems and automated assessment procedures for hydrogen enabling improved visibility and access to pipeline information. This is vital to ensuring we safely manage the repurposing of the network but also accelerate this assessment from the 2.5yr average for an uprating assessment of ~100km of pipeline to a process that can be managed within a year to help accelerate the transition to net zero.

Current inline inspection (ILI) tools don't measure material types and changes along the pipeline that will be important for hydrogen embrittlement factors, nor do they measure small defects and cracks as these have little impact for the natural gas network but will be impacted by hydrogen and accelerate pipeline deterioration. The use of novel ILI technologies such as RoMat and EMAT have never been run before in either the NTS or the LTS; and although utilised in a methane environment globally, the technologies have never been run in a hydrogen environments. Furthermore, the gas networks have never had the ability to download data from an ILI vendor directly into a "datalake" as envisaged in this project.

This is an important energy sector project as it will provide clear insight into datasets required, how they can be obtained via novel ILI technologies and how those data can be uploaded into a "digital twin" of a physical pipeline. These activities will enable the technical case which will need to be made before converting NTS & LTS pipeline assets to hydrogen service. This knowledge will then inform the feasibility, timescales, and costs of the overall network conversion. Without this knowledge, it isn't clear how the existing UK gas network could be converted without the construction of new pipelines.

If this project isn't undertaken, traditional methods of data gathering, collation and assessment will be the only option and assessment criteria will need to be developed via other funding mechanisms. This will likely slow the transition to hydrogen and prevent us from meeting our ambitious timelines on both project union and the wider Hydrogen roll-out. If data can't be provided to demonstrate the repurposing of the network, costly new pipelines will be required to ensure resilience of our energy system.

The development of a hydrogen ready assessment tool is novel in its own right and not something that would be considered through the RIIO-2 business plan as it is focused on the hydrogen transition. In associating this with novel systems for current data collation, new data collection and automated assessment we are producing a system that will truly demonstrate benefits but consists of many challenges leading this to be a high risk high reward project suitable for innovation funding.

Benefits

It is evident that a hydrogen economy has full Government backing; only last month, the Government doubled its ambition to 10GW of hydrogen production capacity by 2030. It is envisaged that this will mobilise over £9 billion in private investment, as well as supporting 12,000 jobs by 2030. To achieve such ambitions and to feed the well-publicized hydrogen-fired power station on Humberside and industrial cluster activities across the country, it is clear that significant gas pipeline capacity will be required to transmit hydrogen from production sites to end users. Hydrogen is also seen as a critical component of future energy systems by providing the flexibility to cope with intra/inter day swings in energy demand, supporting decarbonisation of transport and in some domestic uses providing heat to consumers.

The HyNTS Pipeline Dataset project provides a critical input to the future conversion of the UK gas network from methane to hydrogen service. Although the Discovery phase of the project has shown that there are technical challenges to overcome before pipelines can be repurposed for hydrogen usage, there is no evidence that such challenges are insurmountable. The Alpha phase therefore represents the next stage on the journey towards providing the technical case to convince Regulators that existing pipelines can indeed be safely repurposed.

Consumers will see benefits from this project through the efficient justification of safe repurposing of existing pipelines as opposed to new construction. There are clearly major cost savings in repurposing existing pipelines as opposed to the design and construction of new pipelines, together with reduced environmental footprint.

The core benefits of this project are in the reduction of time and cost associated to data gathering, collation and assessment of datasets for hydrogen asset repurposing. These will directly impact the consumer in the reduction of the cost of the transition. Refinement of the achievable reductions will be undertaken in the Alpha phase, the attached business case demonstrates our proposed target and assumed savings.

Other associated benefits of such an approach are:

1.Safety & Environmental - maintaining the gas networks enviable safety record by providing the framework to safely manage high pressure hydrogen networks, providing increased confidence in the use of hydrogen over fossil fuels and will therefore help to reduce the gas network's carbon footprint.

2.Governmental - Given the current political situation in in Ukraine, it is clear that hydrogen can potentially become one of the secure, indigenous fuel sources for the United Kingdom, the acceleration of the transition is vital to supporting this and fast robust assessments are a key enabler for repurposing our systems

3.Consumer - Development of asset datasets will enable improved understanding of our assets and enable more efficient maintenance both with natural gas and hydrogen. Continued use of network assets in a net zero future prevents stranded costs and maintains jobs within the gas industry which could be lost given the public's desire for a "green revolution"

4.Economic - The safe repurposing of existing pipelines will reduce/ remove the requirement for new pipeline construction. This will significantly reduce the cost of conversion and reduce its environmental footprint.

5.Resilience - The enablement of gas network connections via transmission and distribution assets ensures consistent energy supply to industry, power and heat applications with natural gas and this project will enable that to continue with net zero gases.

6.Whole system - The provision of a coordinated data management system within the energy networks which can receive and assess information from multiple sources will lead to greater transparency throughout the industry