A new research and development (R&D) initiative has set out to address the technical barriers to blending hydrogen in natural gas infrastructure and study life-cycle emissions of hydrogen blends.
Known as HyBlend, the initiative has been formed by Southern Company and its Southern Company Gas subsidiary.
Leading the group, Southern Company Gas with work with industry partners, research consortia, academia and national laboratories.
The collective will encompass more than $15m in hydrogen research.
“Natural gas is a critical partner in the growth of renewables as we foresee numerous opportunities to leverage our existing infrastructure to support clean energy, such as hydrogen,” said Dr. Mark Berry, Vice-President of R&D at Southern Company.
“Emerging technologies such as hydrogen will be key as we work to achieve our enterprise-wide goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
“We are uniquely positioned to develop the technology and infrastructure needed to produce and distribute hydrogen into our system,” added Zachary Lowe, Director at Southern Company Gas.
“Blending hydrogen into existing natural gas infrastructure enables us to further understand the infrastructure’s capabilities, which is essential for achieving carbon reduction goals.”
This two-year project has been selected by the US Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy through the H2@Scale 2020 CRADA Call.
Source: h2-view
