October 27, 2021, Kyiv. RGC became the first Ukrainian company among 67 members of Ready4H2 consortium. As Stanislav Kazda, RGC Development Strategy Director, said at the 7th Ukrainian Gas Forum in Kyiv, Ready4H2 consortium brings together major European DSOs who work on getting the gas distribution networks ready to use hydrogen as a part of an overarching objective of achieving their climate neutrality.
The main task of the Ready4H consortium is to present the draft hydrogen strategy for Europe’s gas distribution industry in February 2022. The document will take into account the proposals based on technical expertise, research and experience of handling the hydrogen by DSOs that joined the Ready4H2.
“Our European colleagues got interested by the research scale and dynamics, as well as the scientific support of the RGC hydrogen project. After all, the process of preparation of the gas networks to work on hydrogen and gas mixtures has many technicalities. Professional cooperation and exchange of experience are the major drivers that will accelerate the movement in this direction,” said Oleg Nikonorov, CEO, RGC.
The activities of the Ready4H2 consortium have three components:
- data consolidation and analysis of the situation with the development of hydrogen energy sector in the countries whose DSOs are participating in the project;
- study of economic and technical aspects of preparing the gas infrastructure to work on hydrogen;
- drafting hydrogen strategy for the gas infrastructure, i.e. developing a road map for the gradual conversion of gas distribution networks to work on hydrogen.
RGC is one of the largest Ready4H2 participating DSOs in terms of the length of the gas distribution networks, number of customers and volumes of gas distribution. RGC hydrogen test sites and the scientific consortium set up a year ago specifically for the hydrogen research program bring unique experience to Ready4H2.
RGC hydrogen project: a program designed to get the gas distribution systems ready to supply hydrogen and other “green” synthetic gases to the customers. The project has been under implementation since 2020, when five special RGC test sites were established to carry out hydrogen tests of the gas networks and equipment. The research partners of RGC hydrogen project include eight research institutions, including the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine that are organized into a consortium and take part in research and tests within the frameworks of RGC hydrogen project according to their specialization.
Aside from RGC, Ready4H2 involves DSOs from Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain and Sweden.
