'We need everything': CEO on why natural gas infrastructure needs to be ready for clean hydrogen

[NickB79]

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/09/ceo-on-why-natural-gas-infrastructure-must-be-ready-for-clean-hydrogen.html

Blending hydrogen into natural gas infrastructure will be needed to meet decarbonization goals, according to the CEO of Italgas.
"Today we are moving around natural gas, but tomorrow we will have biomethane [and] clean hydrogen that will be used to decarbonize the system," Paolo Gallo told CNBC.
Advocating the continued use of fossil fuel infrastructure is likely to spark debate and criticism, not least because of fossil fuels' huge impact on the environment.

What a shock, the fossil fuels oligarchy wants in on the hydrogen bandwagon. I'm sure their intentions are pure though : sarcasm:

In completely unrelated news, Argonne Lab just found out that blending green hydrogen in natural gas infrastructure offset most of it's carbon reductions because it doubles the leakage rates significantly.

https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/natural-gas/102723-hydrogen-blending-in-gas-pipelines-faces-limits-due-to-leakage-us-doe-lab

In Argonne's modeling, blending 30% hydrogen by volume into gas pipelines yielded a relatively modest 6% decrease in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. A major factor in Argonne's estimate was its finding that hydrogen blending at that level can double leakage from transmission lines.

The lifecycle benefits of pipeline blending came chiefly from the lower emissions tied to hydrogen production and end-use combustion. However, injecting hydrogen into pipelines led to higher transmission and distribution emissions and greater energy demand in compressor stations, largely wiping out the upstream and downstream benefits.

"This is largely because I am replacing a fossil molecule with a green molecule, but much of that is offset with the compression footprint and also the leakage," Amgad Elgowainy, a senior scientist and distinguished fellow at Argonne, said during an Oct. 26 webinar.

[Think. Again.]

1. Yes...

Hydrogen leaks easier, existing natural gas lines will have be lined somehow or replaced, if we end up wanting to transport H2 by using them.

From what I've read, we won't be using H2 in the same ways we use natural gas anyway (as a combustion fuel for cooking, heating, etc.) so it's kind of a moot point.