H2 Pilot (English) - SPP Distribúcia

H2 Pilot - DSO 10% Hydrogen blending project

Blatná na Ostrove village

300 customers
255 boilers
203 stoves
6 water heaters
Gasified in 1994
Houses, apartments, SMEs
9km network – steel 80%, PE 20%

Green H2
(use of guarantees of origin)

Project Timeline

January 2022

Expert opinion and permit: DSO assets (10% blend)

March 2022

Inspections – consumers’ premises
Passportization of appliances
Communication and PR activities

May 2022

Expert opinion and permit: Off-take installations and appliances (10% blend)
Manufacturer opinions

Jun 2022

Expert opinion and permit: Mixing and blending facility
Testing phase

Jun – September 2022 – Approved blending operation:

Admixing 10% H2 in local grid
Special procedures and activities
- Gas composition measurements
- Real energy consumption
- Controls and inspections
Final report – Conclusions and recommendations

Activities during realization phase of the project 6-9/2022

Blending quality online monitoring
Blend homogeneity testing
Tightness controls
Old-type appliances control

Key Findings

blending device worked reliably, dosing continuously and in the required volumes,
chromatographic measurements performed on a weekly basis:
- demonstrated the homogeneity of the distributed mixture (approx. 10% in all parts of the municipal network)
- confirmed that H2 does not separate from the mixture
- after proper mixing at the dosing point the blend behaves homogeneously in the network
- if there are leaks of distributed gas blend, all components of the mixture are leaking (both methane and odorant, not just hydrogen),
sniffing tests and measurements performed demonstrated a high-quality and sufficient level of network odorization and proved that H2 does not negatively affect the typical smell of the distributed gas in any improper way,
inspection of the most risky end devices (32 oldest and/or atmospheric boilers and 25 stoves) during 3 months of use with a 10% mixture showed positive results in all cases – ignition, flame stability, functionality,
leak detection surveys performed proved tightness of the network,
from the start of the project in the village on 15/06/2022 until its completion on 30/09/2022, no relevant reports or complaints were recorded by customers

Conclusions and future prospects

Previous experience confirms that blending 10% vol. of hydrogen into the distributed gas does not have a negative impact on the safety, reliability and standard operation of gas facilities and common gas appliances – stoves, boilers and water heaters.

By carrying out the pilot project, we have moved significantly further in our effort to gradually prepare the entire distribution network for a mixture of gases containing hydrogen, or the future distribution of pure hydrogen in selected parts of the network.