Knowledge transfer for pipeline engineers in the new hydrogen economy

Authors: Michelle Unger, ROSEN Group; Phil Hopkins, Phil Hopkins Learning Ltd., UK

Fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) currently account for around 80% of the world's primary energy demand [1] but the United Nations [2] notes that they are by far the largest contributor to global Climate Change, accounting for over 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions.

This 80% energy share is expected to decline to around 50% by 2050, depending on the measures taken by governments to combat Climate Change and achieve net zero emissions targets [3]. This will need renewable energies to grow rapidly and potentially provide around 50% of the world's energy needs by 2050 if governments are to meet all their pledges to tackle Climate Change. This development means that we are living in an exciting world of new energies, including hydrogen.

Hydrogen can play various roles on the path to a carbon-neutral future, which is why we now speak of a "hydrogen economy." This includes, among other things, balancing the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere with the amount absorbed or removed from the atmosphere. To use hydrogen as a new energy source and fully exploit its potential, pipelines are needed to bring this new fuel to customers.

The cost of new pipelines is very high; therefore, the industry is considering reusing the existing natural gas pipework. This re-purposing of gas grids comes with some additional operational challenges; for example, hydrogen can embrittle pipeline steels and welds, it will need more compression (higher energy demand), it is easier to leak (hydrogen has a much lower density than natural gas), etc.

For anyone working with hydrogen pipelines in the future, it is crucial to understand the characteristics of hydrogen as well as potential threats and the actual material properties of pipelines. This means that special and specific knowledge will be required for the integrity management of these hydrogen pipelines, so "What new competencies are needed, and what level of competence is required?" are questions to be answered.

Competence is the ability to take responsibility and perform activities to a recognized standard. It is a combination of skills (ability to perform a task), knowledge (ability to understand and explain the task), experience (type, years, supervision to acquire the knowledge), and behaviors. A modern, objective approach to demonstrating competence is the use of "competency standards," alongside academic and professional achievements, training programs, and relevant experience [4, 5]. Competency standards provide a common definition of a competency, with its minimum requirements, and are used to assess the competency of an individual.

To date, there have been competency standards for many pipeline disciplines, such as inspection and integrity management [5], but these are focused on oil and gas pipelines. As these standards are now being extended to the hydrogen economy, the ROSEN Competence Club now offers a competency standard for engineers dealing with hydrogen pipeline integrity based on currently available knowledge [6]. This competency standard illustrates three levels of competency (awareness, foundation, and practitioner) and the required knowledge that can be achieved through a mixture of training, experience, and mentoring. These skills will provide pipeline engineers with the knowledge they need to manage the transportation of hydrogen and ensure its safety.

References

1. Anon., ‘BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2020’, BP. 71st edition. https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/energy-economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2022-full-report.pdf

2. Anon., ‘Causes and Effects of Climate Change’, United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/net-zero-coalition?gclid=Cj0KCQiAq5meBhCyARIsAJrtdr4yFf4sV1E9sSGRmITo4Iwyf-q7l_AC6utIq36ptGCESr_Nvhw79CoaAmaFEALw_wcB https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/causes-effects-climate-change#:~:text=Fossil%20fuels%20%E2%80%93%20coal%2C%20oil%20and,of%20all%20carbon%20dioxide%20emissions.

3. Anon., ‘World Energy Outlook 2022’, International Energy Agency. November, 2022. www.iea.org.

4. M Unger, P Hopkins, ‘The Competency Standard Manual for Pipeline Integrity Management’, Journal of Pipeline Engineering. September, 2018.

5. Anon., ‘The Competency Standards Manual for Pipeline Integrity Management’, 2nd Edition. 2019. https://competence.rosen-group.com/resources/competency-standards-manual.

6. Anon., ‘Introduction to Hydrogen in the Energy Transition and the Role of Pipelines’, The Competence Club. https://competence.rosen-group.com/pipeline-integrity-courses/course/introduction-of-hydrogen-pipeline-integrity.