PilgrHYm aims to contribute to the decarbonization of the energy sector by providing a European roadmap with comprehensive guidelines to assess the feasibility of safely and efficiently integrating pure H2 into existing natural gas infrastructure.

This project has received co-funding from the European Commission and the Clean Hydrogen Partnership under Grant Agreement No 101137592. This Partnership receives support from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation program, Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe Research.

THE OBJECTIVES

The PilgrHYm project has 7 strategic objectives: 

  1. Develop a database of material characterization testing on representative steel grades of the EU gas grids, including tensile, fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth (FCG) properties.
  2. Establish harmonized testing protocols to support the repurposing of natural gas lines to hydrogen.
  3. Develop a numerical modelling approach for simulating and predicting hydrogen assisted fracture and fatigue.
  4. Optimize a more realistic FCGR (Fatigue Crack Growth Rate) master curve for fitness-for-service assessment purpose, in particular for low ΔK values corresponding to the actual operating domain of the EU gas grids.
  5. Identify existing and/or innovative technologies for mitigation compatible with operational constraints.
  6. Engage with stakeholders to ensure cooperation and awareness.
  7. Facilitate the uptake and exploitation of PilgrHYm results by the academic community, technology developers and end-users.

work packages

WP1 will be focused on the comprehensive and detailed description of the European natural gas transmission network of steel pipelines, both in terms of infrastructure properties and in terms of current operating conditions with natural gas.

The objectives of WP1:

Leader: FLUXYS

WP2 will focus on the identification of the most relevant mechanical properties that shall be investigated in the context of H2 injection in the existing European pipeline grid

The objectives of WP2:

Leader: SINTEF

WP3 will be dedicated to the experimental characterization of the materials identified in WP1 which are the most representative of the EU gas network.

The objectives of WP3:

Leader: CEA LITEN

WP4 will investigate and provide approaches for reduction and extrapolation of Fatigue Crack Growth (FCG) and reduction in number of experimental tests for development of new FCG-master curves.

The objectives of WP4:

Leader: IWM

WP5 will investigate mitigation techniques limiting H2 uptake, and thus embrittlement, through a comprehensive literature review on the main achievements so far.

The objectives of WP5:

Leader: FHa

WP6 will be dedicated to the development of guidelines to be provided to standardization bodies to improve the existing codes and standards.

The objectives of WP6:

Leader: GRTgaz

WP7 carries out the management activities, including administrative, financial, and scientific coordination.

The objectives of WP7:

Leader: GRTgaz

WP8 is dedicated to activities related Dissemination, Communication and Exploitation, also including clustering with other projects and initiatives, as well as providing the branding and visual identity of the project.

The objectives of WP8:

Leader: GERG