GAS PIPELINES SPONSORED EDITORIAL
DELIVERING THE FUTURE OF GAS
THROUGH AUSTRALIA’S MOST COMPREHENSIVE GREEN HYDROGEN DEMONSTRATION The $15 million Western Sydney Green Gas project is a five-year trial that will convert solar and wind power into hydrogen gas, via electrolysis, which will then be stored for use across the Jemena Gas Network in New South Wales, the biggest gas distribution network in Australia. Zinfra, a leading engineering, project management, construction, operations and maintenance services provider, is Jemena’s project delivery partner, helping to execute the innovative project, which will explore how existing gas infrastructure can play a significant role in a greener energy future.
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emena’s project will be co-funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) who has committed $7.5 million in funding for the project. If the demonstration of hydrogen blending in the gas network, storage and electricity generation as ancillary service is successful, the solution could be expanded and replicated across Australia. The project is also being enabled for cylinder filling with the aim to refill tube trailers with hydrogen to be utilised off-site for public and private fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV) opportunities, making renewably-generated hydrogen available to the NSW vehicle industry. Renewable Project Manager, Jarrod Irving, from Zinfra’s Gas Projects team said that by working with Jemena on Australia’s most comprehensive green hydrogen demonstration project, Zinfra was not only able to understand the future potential integration of hydrogen within existing gas networks, but also use the experience to upskill its field force in working with hydrogen. “We are currently going through a massive change in the energy landscape, and hydrogen could provide a solution to the energy trilemma of reliability,
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affordability and sustainability – through networks supplying decarbonised gas to consumers and as an energy storage mechanism,” Mr Irving said. “This transition is well supported within Zinfra thanks to its leading capabilities across both the electricity and gas sectors, in which hydrogen will play a significant role, whether it be through intermittent storage, electrical generation or network injection. “Given this, we wanted to ensure that the project wasn’t treated just as a trial, but as an opportunity to expand our capabilities and upskill our workforce.” As part of the project, Jemena purchased New South Wales’ first electrolyser which converts solar and wind power into hydrogen gas through a process called electrolysis. Hydrogen produced by the electrolyser will be stored within a 340m long, 500mm diameter buffer store pipeline – which can store approximately 120kg of hydrogen (approximately 4MWh of onsite storage) – before injection into the secondary gas network or generation of electricity through a microturbine or fuel cell to demonstrate the flexibility of hydrogen within future energy networks.
Using industry experience to achieve the right outcomes The facility design also offered unique challenges to overcome, one of those was the application of Australian Standards. The standards for piping and hazardous areas, already cover hydrogen, however, the Australian Standard for transmission pipelines (our hydrogen pipeline acts as a buffer storage facility) specifically excludes hydrogen. This meant that Zinfra, with the support of its engineering design consultant GPA Engineering, had to utilise a hybrid of two standards for the buffer store pipeline – AS2885 for general pipeline design and ASME B31.12 for specific material and weld considerations with respect to interactions with hydrogen gas. The pipeline material used is similar to the Jemena Gas Network and will allow Jemena to understand the future implication of hydrogen within the gas network. Construction was undertaken in partnership with Wasco Pty Ltd and commenced in early 2021 with the first green hydrogen produced in May 2021 as part of the electrolyser safety testing in the lead up to commissioning. As commissioning is completed and the facility moves to operation, hydrogen will begin to www.energymagazine.com.au
