Repurposing natural gas pipelines for hydrogen: Limits and options from a case study in Germany

We investigate the challenges and options for repurposing existing natural gas pipelines for hydrogen transportation. Challenges of re-purposing are mainly related to safety and due to the risk of hydrogen embrittlement of pipeline steels and the smaller molecular size of the gas. From an economic perspective, the lower volumetric energy density of hydrogen compared to natural gas is a challenge. We investigate three pipeline repurposing options in depth: a) no modification to the pipeline but enhanced maintenance, b) use of gaseous inhibitors, and c) the pipe-in-pipe approach. The levelized costs of transportation of these options are compared for the case of the German Norddeutsche Erdgasleitung (NEL) pipeline. We find a similar cost range for all three options. This indicates that other criteria such as the sunk costs, public acceptance, and consumer requirements are likely to shape the decision making for gas pipeline repurposing.