Australian energy infrastructure business, APA Group, announced a hydrogen pilot project to enable the proposed conversion of 43 km of Parmelia Gas Pipeline in Western Australia into Australia’s first 100% hydrogen-ready transmission pipeline.

The pilot project is APA’s first project under its Pathfinder Program – a new initiative that will help unlock energy solutions of the future – and would make the Parmelia Gas Pipeline one of only a few existing gas transmission pipelines in the world, 100% hydrogen-ready.

Future Fuels Cooperative Research Centre and Wollongong University have partnered with APA to support the engineering research to enable the safe and efficient conversion of the 43-kilometre section of the Parmelia Gas Pipeline to a hydrogen-ready service.

The AUD $3 MM project will fund three phases, including: research and testing of the material for embrittlement in the laboratory, development of safe operating guidelines, and full-scale testing on-site.

In an Australian-first, a new laboratory is being established at Wollongong University to test materials, which are representative of the pipeline, under pressurized hydrogen gas conditions.

One of the COAG Energy Council’s National Hydrogen Strategy’s recommendations was for pipelines to be tested for their response to hydrogen embrittlement.

APA is targeting the testing and research to be completed around late CY2022, which if successful would make the pipeline hydrogen-ready.

Subject to proving the pipeline is hydrogen-ready, APA will then need to consider ongoing work in conjunction with potential producers and customers to understand the infrastructure and connection requirements to commission the pipeline as a hydrogen service.

During the testing, APA will work with WA’s Economic Regulation Authority and WA Government to demonstrate the safety of hydrogen transmission pipelines and support the development of Australian standards.

The launch of the Parmelia Gas Pipeline pilot project follows APA’s continued progress towards a sustainable future, including APA’s ambition to achieve net zero operations emissions by 2050.

Transmission of hydrogen at scale is a critical part of delivering the Australian Government’s hydrogen economy ambition and will also be important to support the WA Government’s hydrogen blending goal of 10% by 2030.

Following the completion of the testing, the pilot project results will also support decision-making for the potential transition of other APA assets to be hydrogen-ready.