For the first time in the country, a mixture of hydrogen and natural gas has been tested in Dârlos, in Sibiu county.
The test was part of the last stage of the 20HyGrid project in Dârlos, testing the operation of a polyethylene grid segment with a mixture of hydrogen (20%) and natural gas (80%), the first tests of this kind in Romania.
This stage of the project consisted in injecting the mixture directly into the natural gas distribution network supplying more than 50 buildings located on Morii Street in Sibiu.
“In order to credibly demonstrate that the hydrogen-gas mixture can be a feasible and safe solution under real-world conditions, field tests with customers are essential. For new sustainable fuels like hydrogen, it’s about giving customers experience and knowledge directly from the experts on how their plants and appliances work,” said Cristian Ifrim, Deputy CEO of Delgaz Grid.
Prior to the tests, the natural gas supply was cut off on Morii Street and the network was fed from a battery of pre-prepared mixed cylinders.
The tests lasted about six hours, and the company’s specialists monitored several network operating parameters, checked the combustion process of all the appliances in each building supplied from the network and measured the combustion parameters of more than 80% of the thermal power plants.
“There is no noticeable difference compared to 100% natural gas in terms of the functioning of the distribution infrastructure and the installations and appliances that we have tested at customers’ homes. The field tests validate 100% the results of the tests carried out in the polygon of our professional training center in Mediaș”, said Cristian Călin, gas technical manager, project coordinator.
The 20HyGrid project continues on a street in Gornești, Mureș County, a town with a natural gas steel network, where the company is starting tests on household customers to verify the operation of existing indoor installations and appliances using a mixture of natural gas (80%) and hydrogen (20%).
Delgaz Grid has undertaken, for the first time in Romania, the realization of the first project that aims to test the sustainable heating of homes based on a mixture of natural gas (80%) and hydrogen (20%).
The project aims to demonstrate that, from a technical point of view, it is technically feasible and safe to add hydrogen, in the proportion of 20% of the volume, in the distribution networks and natural gas utilization facilities existing in Romania. The consumers’ utilization facilities and distribution system components will not be modified for this process.
The results of the project will serve as a model of best practice for future projects and for the use of hydrogen in various fields, including heating, domestic hot water and food.
Delgaz Grid, the distribution company of the German group E.ON, operates a 25.000 km in 20 counties in the north and west of Romania (Cluj, Bistrița-Năsăud, Maramureș, Satu Mare, Sălaj, Timiș, Arad, Bihor, Caraș-Severin, Hunedoara, Mureș, Sibiu, Alba, Alba, Harghita, Iași, Botoșani, Vaslui, Suceava, Neamț and Bacău) and an electricity network of over 81,000 km in six counties in Moldova: Bacău, Botoșani, Iași, Neamț, Suceava and Vaslui.