APA receives funds to test hydrogen gas pipeline in Australia
The project is the company’s first project under its Pathfinder Program initiative to unlock future energy solutions.
APA Group, Australia’s biggest natural gas pipeline company, today (8th September) announced receiving AU$ 300K (US$ 221K) from the Western Australia government to test gas pipeline for hydrogen.
The funding will be used to test the ability of 43 km (26.7 miles) of the Parmelia gas pipeline to transport up to 100% hydrogen.
The company received funding through the second round of the government’s Renewable Hydrogen Fund, and it was due to promising results of the first phase of the project, which confirmed the viability to transport hydrogen through pipelines.
The second phase will focus on the operational capacity of the existing pipeline infrastructure already deployed by the company. It will also check whether hydrogen can be transported in pure form or transported in mixed form with natural gas.
The project’s second phase will be tested under pressurised hydrogen conditions at Australia’s dedicated test hydrogen laboratory at the University of Wollongong in partnership with Future Fuels CRC.
Transmission of hydrogen through the pipeline will play an essential role in achieving the targets of the Australian government’s hydrogen economy and will also help WA Government to achieve its goal of blending 10% of hydrogen with natural gas by 2030.
Rob Wheals, MD of APA Group, said, “ If successful, this would not only be a national first, but it will be one of only a few transmission pipelines in the world proven to be capable of being converted to carry up to 100% hydrogen.”
