Hydrogen: BAM develops database for safe feed-in into the European gas grid

As part of the EU project SHIMMER, the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) is working on a comprehensive knowledge database that provides important information on standards for safe use of materials and components as well as on the European gas infrastructure. SHIMMER, led by the Norwegian research organization SINTEF, brings together twelve European institutions, including state institutions and gas network operators.

Feeding hydrogen into existing gas networks poses both technical and regulatory challenges. These relate in particular to the material integrity of pipelines and the harmonization of regulatory requirements across Europe. The EU-funded project SHIMMER (Safe Hydrogen Injection Modelling and Management for European Gas Network Resilience) aims to improve the understanding of the integration of hydrogen into the existing gas infrastructure and thus support the market ramp-up towards safe hydrogen technologies.

European multi-gas network

For the first time the existing European gas infrastructure should be comprehensively documented and evaluated in terms of the materials, components and technologies used, for the assessment of their suitability for hydrogen mixtures. This is the overall goal of SHIMMER with the close collaboration of distribution and transmission system operators participating in the project. . In addition, the project defines methods and tools for the management of a European “multi-gas network“ into which hydrogen is fed on a large scale. It will also frame standards for quality monitoring and develop best pratice guidelines for risk management.

Database of typical components

In the project, BAM is coordinating the development of a comprehensive database that collects information on typical components in European gas networks. Based on this data, standards for the testing and qualification of materials and components for hydrogen operation are to be developed.

SHIMMER is led by SINTEF, an independent Norwegian research organization that conducts research and development in fields of technology, natural sciences and society. In addition to BAM, eleven other European partners are involved in the project, including government institutions and gas network operators. SHIMMER is funded as part of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership program.

Clean Hydrogen Partnership

The Clean Hydrogen Partnership supports research and innovation activities in the field of hydrogen technologies in Europe. The aim is to accelerate the development of advanced, market-ready applications for clean hydrogen in various end-use sectors such as energy, transport, construction and industry, while strengthening the competitiveness of the clean hydrogen value chain. Members of the partnership are the European Commission, the fuel cell and hydrogen industry, represented by Hydrogen Europe, and the research community, represented by Hydrogen Europe Research.

Hydrogen colloquium at the BAM Academy

Lecture series

At the Colloquium hosted by the Competence Center H2Safety@BAM, experts from BAM and selected cooperation partners will present and share their latest research findings and discuss their implications. Participants will gain valuable insights into ongoing and recently completed projects, provided opportunities to give feedback and ask questions about their own use cases. Additionally, these meetings offer a valuable platform for networking and identifying potential collaborations.

This article was first published on 19 August by BAM.