Hear all about Kiwa and have a tour of their site. The plant is linked to KIWA’s new test labs by the UK’s first hydrogen distribution pipeline, operated under the Gas Act 1986. The ability to connect to a continuous flow of odourised hydrogen will be invaluable to manufacturers seeking to understand the performance and longevity of their appliances.
Working alongside other industry partners, GTC designed and constructed the 370m pipeline using 180mm PE80 pipe, which is typically used in low pressure gas distribution networks. The pipe delivers hydrogen to KIWA Energy’s new testing laboratory in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
Gas emergency and pipeline company, Wales & West Utilities, will provide the emergency service to the pipeline. This will be the first in the UK to use the same odorant as the natural gas distribution network.
The KIWA team has designed and managed the build of the hydrogen production plant, which involves Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) of locally produced syngas from a biogas source, and the conversion of KIWA’s labs to use piped hydrogen. The knowledge gained is already proving useful to standards developers, market regulators and those looking to convert their own facilities to use bulk hydrogen.