GasNet is Preparing to Unveil Czechia’s First Hydrogen City
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BUSINESS
GasNet is Preparing
to Unveil Czechia’s First Hydrogen City
Czechia’s largest gas distributor, the GasNet group, is currently working on their hydrogen city project.
Hranice in the Karlovy Vary region will become the country's rst municipality where GasNet will add
hydrogen to their natural gas pipelines. The company’s goal is to supplement up to 10% of the city’s
natural gas with sustainable hydrogen produced just outside Hranice.
“As a domestic leader in natural gas
distribution, we realise our role and
responsibility in transforming Czech
energetics. Decarbonisation is impossible in
Czechia without natural gas. Once we fully
turn away from coal, gas will play a critical role
as an intermediate low carbon renewable
energy source. This is also why we have put
long term effort into having the ability to make
use of our infrastructure for low emission or
emissionless gasses such as biomethane and
hydrogen,” said Pavel Komsa, Investment and
Construction Director of the GasNet group,
he also added: “The project in Hranice is our
proof of concept. This way we can begin to
materialise a green and low emission future
for the gas industry. I believe that this will be
a milestone for the hydrogen revolution in
Czechia. We had already made the transfer
from coal gas to natural gas in the past, and
now we are pushing to move from natural
gas to green and renewable gasses.”
GasNet has already completed check-ups
of gas consuming devices in the city, such
as gas stoves or boilers. This was done in
collaboration with the Engineering Testing
Institute to make sure the transfer goes
smoothly. Essentially nothing will change for
the consumers, as even a mixture including
20% hydrogen still has practically identical
properties to pure natural gas, meaning that
appliances do not have to be replaced or
modified.
The distribution network, which is run by
GasNet in Hranice, is also prepared for
the switch. The city has one of the newest
and most modern gas distribution systems
in Czechia. Materials used in the system’s
construction were selected with hydrogen
already in mind.
Flue gas routes and chimneys were also
inspected by the partner company APOKS
(Association for Optimization of Chimneys
and Combustion). This step was also
supported by the Karlovy Vary region.
“Our goal is for the Karlovy Vary region to
stand as a leader of the Czech hydrogen
revolution. In April of last year, we signed
a Hydrogen Memorandum with the Ústí Nad
Laben and Moravian-Silesian regions, where
we promised to support the development
of hydrogen technologies along with so-
called hydrogen valleys. We are also directing
efforts towards expanding support for
the development of hydrogen production,
distribution and application in the European
and Czech legislature. Implementing
hydrogen into gas distribution and energetics
will help us greatly cut down emissions,” Petr
Kulhánek, Governor of the Karlovy Vary
region, explained.
There are around 350 locations that draw
from the gas network. These places include
homes, where the gas is used for heating
and cooking, but also industrial facilities,
which use gas in their production processes.
The new gas mixture will have no impact on
industrial production either.
“Hydrogen production in Hranice will be
fueled by local renewable energy sources
such as the wind power plants in the area and
the Trojmezí Farm photovoltaic plant. This
way, the hydrogen will be fully renewable
and its production will be located at the point
of consumption,” Pavel Komsa added.
The GasNet group is building the mining
gas pipeline for hydrogen production and
preparing the site for the gas mixing facility.
The Trojmezí Farm is conducting intensive
construction work involving the installation
of an electrolyzer and hydrogen storage
tank at the production site. The project
is expected to fully launch in the first half
of next year at latest.
Hydrogen In Czech Legislature and
Strategic Documents
The amendment made to the Energy act
in January of this year added hydrogen to
the list of gasses that may be distributed
and delivered to consumers through public
gas networks in Czechia for the first time
in history. Hydrogen is now included in
the same legal framework as natural gas.
This means that the current legislature not
only allows for the distribution of a mixture
of natural gas and hydrogen, but also pure
hydrogen gas.
The future significance and key role of hydrogen
was confirmed by the Czech governing bodies
at a meeting in July, when they updated their
hydrogen strategy. The document clearly states
that hydrogen will not only be an asset to the gas
industry, industry as a whole and energetics,
but to the entirety of domestic economics and
society at large as well.
projektu a uvedení do provozu se předpo-
kládá nejpozději v první polovině příštího
roku.
Vodík v legislativě i strategických
dokumentech ČR
Novela energetického zákona platná od
prvního ledna letošního roku zařadila po-
prvé v historii České republiky vodík mezi
plyny, které je možné distribuovat veřej-
nou plynovodní sítí k odběratelům. Vodík
je zasazen do stejného právního rám-
ce jako zemní plyn. Legislativa tak dnes
umožňuje distribuci nejen směsi zemního
plynu a vodíku, ale i distribuci 100% čisté-
ho vodíku.
Budoucí význam a klíčovou roli vodíku
potvrdila na svém červencovém jednání
také vláda ČR, když schválila aktualizova-
nou podobu Vodíkové strategie. Z doku-
mentu jasně vyplývá, že vodík bude mít
přínos nejen pro průmysl, plynárenství
a energetiku, ale i pro celou tuzemskou
ekonomiku a společnost.
Text a foto:
GasNet, s.r.o.