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* Technical study on hydrogen blending has kicked off
* Hope to have first assessment end June
* TAP set to pump first Azeri gas to Italy end of year
By Stephen Jewkes
MILAN, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Developers of the Trans Adriatic
Pipeline (TAP) have started feasibility studies on blending
hydrogen with the natural gas the pipeline will bring in from
Azerbaijan, the TAP head said.
"The company has kicked off a technical study and we hope to
be in a position to make a first assessment by the end of June
next year," TAP managing director Luca Schieppati told Reuters
on Wednesday.
TAP is the final leg of a $40 billion project named the
Southern Gas Corridor, which will carry 10 billion cubic metres
of gas per year from the giant Shah Deniz field into Europe.
The pipeline, already commercially operative, is set to
start pumping its first gas into Italy at the end of this year.
Schieppati said any commitment on hydrogen blending could
come in tandem with a decision, expected in July 2021, on the
possible doubling of the infrastructure's gas capacity.
Hydrogen is seen as an energy source that could partly
replace natural gas in future, helping to cut emissions provided
it is produced using renewable power and is therefore
carbon-free.
TAP shareholders include BP, Azerbaijan’s SOCAR, Snam
, Fluxys, Enagás and Axpo.
Many gas grid companies around the world are committing to a
wider use of hydrogen as a way to extend the long-term life of
their infrastructure because of increasing requirements to move
away from fossil fuel, such as gas.
Snam, Europe's biggest gas pipeline operator, has been
experimenting with a 10% mix of hydrogen in part of its gas
network and has said 70% of its grid is "hydrogen ready".
Earlier this year it reached a deal with SOCAR to study the
possible use of renewable gases for delivery through the
Southern Gas Corridor.
(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes; editing by Barbara Lewis)
