Steel pipeline for the hydrogen storage and delivery: metallurgical viewpoint for Finnish ecosystem

Abstract

For more than a century, hydrogen has been used as an industrial chemical to produce ammonia for fertilizers and to process intermediate products in oil refineries. However, hydrogen has recently received renewed interest due to its ability to reduce carbon emissions to the atmosphere, particularly in the steel-making industries. Thus, hydrogen has the potential to play a critical role in combating climate change and achieving Finland's national goal of carbon neutrality by 2035. In this regard, national and global demand for hydrogen is rapidly increasing, and it is now three times more than what it was in 1975. The production and supply of hydrogen for industrial consumption would be a massive business that is expected to expand even faster than before. According to the IEA, the total demand for hydrogen in pure and mixed gas was approximately 115-120 million tones in 2018. (Gaseous) hydrogen can be efficiently transported by pipeline networks at a pressure of typically <100 bar. Pipelines provide an economical means of transporting hydrogen in large quantities over long/short distances, and hence they are often found serving end users who take hydrogen from a local central source of production. Nevertheless, the correct pipe material for hydrogen distribution must be designed and used, and the current natural gas pipeline infrastructure must be upgraded significantly if it is to be used for the delivery of pure hydrogen at high pressure. Hence, new research is needed to focus mainly on the possibility of use/modification of available natural gas pipeline network for hydrogen delivery as well as the study on the new economical pipeline material, exclusively for hydrogen transportation and storage.