Report: Safety of Hydrogen Transportation by Gas Pipelines
In 2021, PST commissioned a report to examine the state of hydrogen regulations and safety. The report identified several concerns about hydrogen transportation and cautioned against the transport of hydrogen in systems designed for methane distribution.
Full Report on Hydrogen Pipelines
Resumen para legisladores(as) – ¡Ya Disponible en Español!
H2/CO2 Pipeline Safety One-Page Summary
Background
The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act appropriated $9.5 billion for clean hydrogen and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) laid additional beneficial policies and incentives for the US hydrogen industry to take center stage in the clean energy transition. However, transporting hydrogen through pipelines is more dangerous than transporting methane through pipelines. There are serious concerns about the pursuit of hydrogen blending options for existing gas transmission or gas distribution pipelines. Hydrogen blending in most U.S. existing gas pipeline systems may not prove viable. Natural gas blends with higher hydrogen percentages can leak at higher rates compared to methane because hydrogen has a greater propensity to leak than methane. In addition, hydrogen is an indirect greenhouse gas with 33 times the warming power of carbon dioxide in the first 20 years and hydrogen can cause pipeline embrittlement, increasing probability of failure.
In April 2024, PHMSA proposed a new information collection of operator data on hydrogen blending activities in gas systems. In response, PST created a guide to help the public, organizations, and coalitions write comments on the topic. Additionally, we submitted a comment in support of the information collection and asking the agency to carefully consider a ban on hydrogen blending in gas distribution systems until more research and rulemaking can be conducted to close knowledge gaps about hydrogen transportation.
Advocacy
PST Comment on PHMSA’s proposed Information Collection on Hydrogen Blending
Additional Resources
EDF Study: Climate Consequences of Hydrogen Emissions
Canadian standards organization CSA statement on hydrogen blending (archived)