Linde Engineering begins plant for extracting H2 from natgas pipelines

Linde Engineering has officially started up the world’s first full-scale pilot plant in Dormagen to showcase how hydrogen (H₂) can be separated from natural gas streams using Linde’s HISELECT powered by Evonik membrane technology.

The process is a key enabler for scenarios in which (H₂) is blended with natural gas and transported via natural gas pipelines. The blended gas could consist of between 5%–60% hydrogen. Membranes are then used to extract (H₂) from these natural gas streams at the point of consumption. The resulting hydrogen has a concentration level of up to 90%. When further processed with Linde Engineering’s pressure swing adsorption technology, a purity of up to 99.9999% can be achieved. 

Membrane technologies are vital to efforts around the globe for establishing (H₂) infrastructure. In Europe, 11 transmission system operators are working on creating the European Hydrogen Backbone. Their aim is to build and expand a functional (H₂) network, based largely on repurposed existing natural gas infrastructure. Membrane technology could be integral for efficiently transporting (H₂) to end users for use as an industry feedstock, as a source of heat and power, or as a transportation fuel. 

“The HISELECT demonstration in Dormagen allows us to display essential technology for transporting hydrogen via natural gas pipelines in a real-life setting. It shows a way to leverage existing infrastructure. In doing so we avoid the high costs and the long process that would be involved in building a dedicated hydrogen pipeline infrastructure,” says John van der Velden, Senior Vice President Global Sales & Technology, Linde Engineering. 

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