Study of transportation prospects and safety regulations of hydrogen in Indian context: A green fuel for greener future

Abstract

The transportation of huge quantities of Hydrogen to the consumption points is a herculean task and can only be economically viable through the pipeline route. The creation of a dedicated pipeline infrastructure for Hydrogen comes with huge investment requirements and time consuming. The transportation of Hydrogen in existing Natural Gas pipelines and the introduction of hydrogen into modern city gas distribution networks is the low hanging fruit even if it comes with technological challenges for maintaining pipelines integrity. The need of the hour is to develop the strategies and tools to identify 'hydrogen-ready' pipelines to enable a successful transition to economical and safe introduction of hydrogen into the natural gas network. The benefit would also be similar to the blending of hydrogen into the natural gas pipeline in term of providing renewable energy to distantly located consumers. The present chapter has given details about the prospect and challenges of conversion of natural gas pipelines made from 'standard' grades for hydrogen-natural gas mixture in Indian context.