Competing Studies Say NatGas Pipes Can/Can’t Be Used for Hydrogen

With all of the hoopla at yesterday's ribbon cutting in Morgantown, WV, for the new Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) headquarters, we thought it appropriate to share a couple of studies analyzing whether and how existing natural gas infrastructure (pipelines) and appliances (furnaces and stoves) can use the hydrogen that will get produced by ARCH2. Three weeks ago, we noticed a study published by U.K. utility company National Gas that announced results from an experiment it had conducted that showed its pipeline system could be converted to flow 100% pure hydrogen, which was a shocker for us. Then, last week, a U.S. study was published, largely led by members of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), that reports the opposite --- using existing natgas pipelines to flow 100% pure hydrogen is "mostly unusable" and won't work. Which study is right? Because they both can't be right.

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