Bulgarian gas firms to make green hydrogen, mix it into gas grid

The Bulgarian Natural Gas Association (BAPG) is planning a project to produce green hydrogen and mix it into the gas grid. The companies aim to avoid the need for outside investment.

Green hydrogen is far from competitive as a heating fuel for households or in the transportation sector and several experiments have failed. But it remains one of the solutions for utilizing excess renewable electricity. For example, on weekends and holidays, when demand is low, a sunny and windy day can result in grid overload from photovoltaics and wind power.  By electrolyzing water, the surplus can be converted to green hydrogen. Making electricity from it again is not cost effective, so another version is to mix hydrogen into the gas grid in a relatively small proportion.

Countries like Germany and the Netherlands are even repurposing their gas transmission networks and building new sections, with the ambition for the infrastructure to handle 100% hydrogen. It is a volatile gas, made of the smallest molecules in universe, implying a huge risk of leakage. Hydrogen also takes up much more space per unit of energy than fossil gas or other kinds of methane.

The Bulgarian Natural Gas Association (BAPG) is working on a pilot project to both produce and mix green hydrogen into natural gas within the distribution network. The idea is for traders to buy renewable electricity when it is cheap and power electrolysis.

Polyethilene pipes required to mix hydrogen with fossil gas in distribution grid

Chief Executive Officer of Overgas (Overgaz) and Chairman of BAPG Svetoslav Ivanov told Capital.bg that there are two opposing concepts. Instead of centralized production and consumption of hydrogen, the group is choosing decentralized production, he said. BAPG wants to materialize its endeavor without external financing, the official revealed.

The Ready4H2 project created a network of 97 European gas distribution firms and organizations

Last year the association entered European project Ready4H2 for 97 gas distribution companies and organizations from 22 countries, the article adds. They are exchanging information on their networks, legislation, projects and technology improvements.

Ivanov stressed that almost all the pipes in the distribution network in Bulgaria are made of highly dense polyethylene. The material is excellent for hydrogen, he explained. The only issue are underground metal parts in some places.

Household devices work properly even with a share of hydrogen of up to 35%

State-owned gas transmission and storage system operator Bulgartransgaz is separately working on similar projects. The company included its ten-year development plan the possibility of introducing a mixture with a share of hydrogen of up to 10%.

The government would need to provide EUR 2.3 billion in subsidies and incentives within just a few years for Bulgartransgaz to upgrade the network and connect the national transmission system with Greece and then with Romania, the news outlet wrote.

E.ON Romania and its gas distribution subsidiary Delgaz Grid said in March that they successfully tested supplying homes with a 20% mixture using existing infrastructure. Moreover, stoves, boilers and various other devices worked properly even with a share of hydrogen of 30% to 35%.