GRONINGEN, the Netherlands— The owners of the Noordgastransport (NGT) and NOGAT trunklines have received a Certificate of Fitness from Bureau Veritas (BV) for the transport of green hydrogen through their pipeline systems in the North Sea.
BV Inspection & Certification performed the survey, in compliance with NEN3656 requirements.
Ron Hagen, director NGT, said, "This shows that our NGT pipeline is suitable for the transport of up to 100% pure green hydrogen. This means that our pipeline, which runs from the UK border to Uithuizen, is already ready for the future…The capacity of these pipelines, approximately 12-14 GW, will therefore allow us to move faster to large-scale green hydrogen production in the North Sea."
Hans Janssen, director at NOGAT, which runs from Scandinavian and German waters to Den Helder, added, "By making use of existing infrastructure, we are able to make the transition to green hydrogen in the North Sea more swiftly. This can be pure hydrogen but also a temporary mix of natural gas and green hydrogen.
“Besides the fact that reuse is faster because it is already there, it is also cheaper. Moreover, there is no need to create landfall through vulnerable coastal areas or the Wadden Sea. The impact of reuse, therefore, has a much lower impact on the environment, nature and ecology than building a new pipeline."
Robert de Lange, operations director Industry & IVS Benelux of BV, said, "As an independent party, Veritas has reviewed a previously conducted study, which was related to the suitability of pipelines as a means of transport of green hydrogen…Our assessment and subsequent certification justify the confidence NGT and NOGAT as well as the government and other stakeholders can have that these pipelines fully meet the 'fit for purpose' claim."
In 2018 DNV investigated the pipelines' steel, concluding that it is suitable and safe for hydrogen transportation. The pipelines are regularly inspected both internally and externally to ensure their integrity, with a major inspection conducted every five years.
They are also supervised by the State Supervision of Mines in the Netherlands.
10.06.2022
