Hydrogen installation for monumental buildings in Lochem
Construction starts on hydrogen-powered housing plant in Lochem
21 June 2022
In Lochem (Gld), construction has started on the installation that will transport hydrogen through the existing natural gas grid to homes in the Berkeloord neighbourhood later this year. With a pilot project, network company Alliander wants to investigate whether hydrogen is a good alternative for heating some of the homes in the neighbourhood.
Unique pilot
There is still little experience with transporting hydrogen through existing gas pipelines. Alliander is therefore going to demonstrate how this works in Lochem. This is being done together with the residents of 10 homes and energy cooperative LochemEnergie. The Berkeloord district contains many older, monumental homes that are difficult to insulate. Starting this autumn, the homes of the residents taking part in the pilot will be heated with hydrogen. In the homes, the existing central heating boiler will be replaced by one that is suitable for hydrogen.
Hannah Hogenkamp, Innovation Director at Alliander: "The pilot in Lochem serves two purposes. It is the first time in the Netherlands that existing, occupied homes will be heated with hydrogen flowing through already existing gas pipes. We want to demonstrate that this is possible. After all, it is an important development because in the Netherlands there are over 100,000 kilometres of gas pipelines in the ground that we don't want to let go to waste with the energy transition. In addition, we also want to learn a lot about the technology and maintenance of the installations and pipelines."
Feed-in plant
To make the hydrogen trial in Lochem possible, various preparations are now being made. For example, additional pipelines have recently been laid to continue supplying natural gas to the homes not taking part in the trial.
The homes taking part in the trial will soon receive hydrogen from a distribution point on the Stijgoord in Lochem. Construction of the storage, reduction and odorisation installation began there this week. In this so-called feed-in installation, the pressure of the hydrogen is regulated and it is provided with an odouriser because hydrogen is odourless by nature. Westfalen Gassen Nederland BV is building and operating the plant. They will also supply the hydrogen for this pilot from next autumn.
Tony Moes, Manager Sales and Marketing at Westfalen Gassen Nederland BV: "There are many initiatives in the field of energy transition and hydrogen. As a sustainable partner, we want to continue to develop in this area. We have a lot of expertise when it comes to the safe production and transport of industrial gases plus applications of those gases. We have been supplying hydrogen to our industrial customers for years. In this pilot, we want to gain more knowledge about odorising hydrogen for heating homes in a practical situation."
Construction of the feed plant will take about four months. The hydrogen network in Lochem will be commissioned in October this year.
Lochem prepares for hydrogen
23 July 2020
The Netherlands is going off natural gas and that means houses will have to be heated in a different way. One of the solutions could be hydrogen. But what will hydrogen do in the built environment? And what does it mean for existing natural gas pipelines? We are investigating that. In Lochem, for example. What is happening there now?
What are we investigating in Lochem and why?
There is little practical experience of hydrogen gas distribution through existing natural gas pipelines in the Netherlands. But using the existing grid - to distribute renewable gas - could be a very interesting solution. Partly because of the availability and security of supply of hydrogen, we expect the application of hydrogen in homes to play a significant role only after 2030. Nevertheless, we are already conducting pilots now. In Lochem, for instance, we are going to supply 10 homes with hydrogen through a pilot to gain experience. With the knowledge we gain, we can properly prepare for the future. We are doing this in a neighbourhood where there are many older, monumental houses that are difficult to insulate. These homes are therefore less suitable for the application of other heat alternatives, such as heat pumps or a connection to a heat network. Using the existing natural gas grid safely for hydrogen is the main learning objective for us in this neighbourhood in Lochem.
And what is involved in such a demonstration?
A lot! The big advantage was that the demand for an alternative to natural gas came from the residents themselves. We selected a cluster of homes from a large group of interested parties. Energy cooperative LochemEnergie and Remeha subjected these homes to a technical inspection. This looked, for instance, at current gas consumption, heat loss and insulation options. The surveys provided insight into concrete opportunities to save energy and whether Remeha's hydrogen boilers can meet the expected heat demand. The homes should be able to reduce their gas consumption to around 3,500 m3 per year. Based on the results of the studies, we selected eight homes for the final cluster. To identify all the technical challenges, we designed a demo house, the Hydrogen Experience Centre, together with Kiwa.
What is this demo house for?
To be able to start the pilot in Lochem, there was a lot to figure out. From the operation of different components in succession, to mechanics who need to know how to deal with a possible malfunction in their breakdown service. Therefore, a test set-up of the situation in Lochem was made in the demo house. The demo house thus serves as a training ground for the mechanics who will have to install the new hydrogen plant, because safety is a very important aspect in this process.
How will we get the hydrogen to the homes later?
We are looking at delivery options with a tubetrailer. This tubetrailer will be set up outside the neighbourhood and from there the hydrogen will be transported through the existing gas grid to the relevant homes. We hope to eventually distribute green hydrogen. Green hydrogen is made from renewable energy (solar and/or wind energy), only there is not enough of that available at the moment.
When will hydrogen go through the natural gas pipeline in Lochem?
That will be in autumn 2022. We are currently working towards drawing up contracts with the relevant residents.
Link to the articles (in Dutch):
https://www.alliander.com/nl/nieuws/bouw-installatie-voor-woningen-op-waterstof-in-lochem-van-start/
https://www.alliander.com/nl/nieuws/lochem-bereidt-zich-voor-op-waterstof/