Hydrogen to Infinity – Safe and low-cost hydrogen production, transmission storage and use

PG&E is committed to reaching a net zero energy system by 2040 — five years ahead of California’s current carbon neutrality goal. In support of this effort, they are exploring new technologies and cleaner fuels such as hydrogen.

To achieve this, they initiated the Hydrogen to Infinity (H₂∞) project to study the feasibility of blending hydrogen from a nearby production facility into full-scale pipeline loops and associated equipment mimicking the existing transmission systems that will need to be used. The project will provide R&D, testing, training and education to advance blending in transmission networks.

Ultimately, the project will determine the required factors needed for safe use of existing infrastructure for long-distance transmission of hydrogen-natural gas blends. Successfully demonstrating a safe approach minimizes the need for extensive permitting and construction of new capital-intensive pipeline networks to deliver hydrogen at scale.

H₂∞ is the nation’s most comprehensive end-to-end hydrogen study and proposed demonstration facility, which will provide answers to demonstrate the safe and reliable potential of the low-carbon fuel hydrogen as a renewable energy source for not only PG&E customers but the entire global natural gas industry. The dedicated facility will allow for a controlled and safe study of hydrogen injection, storage, and combustion of different hydrogen blends in a variety of end uses.

The project is co-located with the Northern California Power Agency (NCPA)’s existing Lodi Energy Center and proposed Lodi Hydrogen Center. GHD developed preliminary site layouts for the Lodi Hydrogen Center based on a 60 MW electrolyzer reference plant that can be scaled on site up to over 150 MW. Through preliminary engineering design leading to a detailed cost estimate, we identified a path to implementation that included major milestones for design and construction of the facility.

The project will use commercial polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolysis technology and grid-connected low-carbon power supply to initially produce 24 metric tons of low-carbon hydrogen per day. The adjacent Water Pollution Control Facility operated by the City of Lodi will supply recycled water to the electrolyzer. The hydrogen from this facility will primarily be used to blend with natural gas in NCPA’s Lodi Energy Center to produce electricity. The remaining hydrogen can be used by H₂∞, as well as to fuel medium & heavy-duty trucks, and help decarbonize operations at the Port of Oakland and other off-take facilities.

By acting as engineering consultants on both the production facility and the studies for the hydrogen transmission system, we optimized site use and leveraged synergies for further design, permitting and funding requests so that the two projects were well integrated.

We were retained to provide a comprehensive, full-scale, real-world study that would establish parameters for safe and low-cost production, transmission, storage and use of hydrogen. Our team designed facilities to physically test real-world processes and identify impacts to infrastructure and other challenges involved with hydrogen blending. The testing will include three major components:

1. A full-scale pipeline loop – Built and operated as real-world natural gas transmission pipelines are, but completely standalone so that tests can be run safely.


2. Full-scale destructive testing facilities – Constructing facilities to enable equipment compatibility and leak, materials and integrity testing, pushed to the point of destruction to help identify safety limitations.


3. Laboratory testing – Advanced research and testing facility control center and digital infrastructure for monitoring and controlling the pipeline and testing equipment.

The outcomes of the studies and research will provide knowledge about the existing transmission system’s compatibility with hydrogen blends of up to 30% (and potentially higher in later phases) at an operating pressure of approximately 750 psi. Furthermore, H2∞ will be carried out over longer time periods—10 years or more—than current studies cover, proving much needed long-term assessment of utilizing existing transmission infrastructure. The H2∞ project will enable testing of components in a controlled environment, filling a critical gap in scaling up laboratory capabilities.

PG&E is now developing H2∞ as a Joint Industry Project (JIP) to collaborate on the engineering design stages (Phase 1), and oversee the long-term full-scale testing and evaluation with access to the comprehensive results (Phase 2 and beyond). Visit www.pge.com/hydrogen or email hydrogen@pge.com to learn more.

This ambitious project is the first-of-its-kind in North America; the first hands-on testing of the effects of high hydrogen concentrations in high-pressure systems.

H₂∞ will provide the testing capacity required for gaining the real-world knowledge needed to develop safe, cost-effective technologies and procedures. This testing is crucial, because studies have shown that adding hydrogen to natural gas transmission systems can compromise material properties. This thorough and comprehensive project will help provide solutions with the hope of leading to hydrogen blending in gas infrastructure; helping us transition the gas sector towards net-zero.

In addition to determining the specific effects and identifying solutions, H2∞ will provide hands-on workforce training, educate the public, and stimulate market demand for lower-carbon fuels.