Climate change mitigation is currently an important topic for the whole world. The European Commission created in July 2020 Hydrogen Strategy for a climate-neutral Europe, which goal is to speed up the development of pure hydrogen and ensure that it becomes the basis for a climate-neutral energy system by 2050. Gas infrastructure will be an important part of this transition to green gases.
For this reason, it is also increasingly seeing demands in the industry for valves that would comply with hydrogen operations or the transport of natural gas and hydrogen in different percentages. Both in the Czech Republic and throughout Europe.
In April, ARMATURY Group received its first order from the Czech gas transmission system operator. Company NET4GAS. These are five pieces of high-pressure S43.3 gate valves in the size of DN 300 PN 100 for the project “Moravia Capacity Extension”, which ensure to provide an ecological energy source for industry in the South Moravian, Zlín, Olomouc, and Moravian-Silesian regions. A mixture of natural gas with 10% hydrogen will flow through the valves.
“We had to solve a few technical issues. First, there is a requirement for helium testing of the valves. Since helium is a rare gas, it is limited in quantity on our planet and these tests are costly. An agreement has been made to test mixtures of 90% nitrogen and 10% helium, which will be equally conclusive,” says Libor Kremel, Commercial Director, describing the first hydrogen valves contract.
Other challenges include, for example, preventing a possible hydrogen reaction with other chemical elements in the valve structure, whether they are gate valves or ball valves, or preventing hydrogen from escaping into the environment.
