The Delgaz Grid company organized a roundtable discussion on the topic “Are green gases, biomethane and hydrogen among the viable solutions for Romania’s energy transition?” The event, organized in partnership with the Romanian Business Leaders Foundation, took place in Târgu Mureș, according to Transilvania Business.
Delgaz Grid’s natural gas distribution networks, over 26,000 kilometers long, are 100% ready for the use of biomethane, and the polyethylene ones, representing 70% of the network’s length, are largely ready for the use of hydrogen, according to information presented to the press by representatives of Delgaz Grid, a natural gas and electricity distributor, part of the E.ON group.
“Decarbonization is not only a priority for the environment and for ensuring energy security, but also an essential factor in the competitiveness of the economy. Natural gas will continue to play a fundamental role in the European energy architecture, especially in the energy transition in our country,” said Cristian Secoșan, General Manager of Delgaz Grid.
“Investments to facilitate the energy transition are no longer an option and any postponement will increase costs in the long term. The development of hydrogen and biomethane projects can stimulate economic development and generate jobs, and Romania, with its potential for mixed energy sources, can have an extraordinary opportunity to position itself as a promoter of emerging clean energy technologies,” said Anca Evoiu, Deputy General Manager of Delgaz Grid.
“We want to share experiences from partners across the value chain, we want to establish partnerships. In short, we want to start the wagon of green gas technology, which we talk about a lot, but do quite a bit. We have work to do and I think we need to start putting projects, ideas into practice, which will eventually materialize into commercial solutions and we will have green hydrogen, we will have biomethane. (…) Today they are expensive, but the price of a new product was expensive at the beginning, after which the price started to fall,” said Cristian Călin, Director of Green Gas Programs and Decarbonization Solutions at Delgaz Grid. “I believe that natural gas will become, in the fairly near future, an increasingly rare and expensive commodity, as a result, we need to think about what we are putting in place,” said Cristian Călin.
Péter Ferenc, President of the Mureș County Council (CJ), mentioned the 20HyGrid project of Delgaz Grid, through which, following tests, it was demonstrated that it is possible and safe to use a mixture of hydrogen (20%) and natural gas. As part of the project, tests were also carried out in localities in Mureș County.
The President of the CJ Mureș stressed the importance of the transition to green energies. “You are the ones who have the material and technical means to carry out these tests, to make projects to study this field. I have been to several countries and several places where I have seen that others have really taken us ahead of us and that we have a long road to travel together,” added Péter Ferenc.
Hydrogen – energy vector
“I use a phrase when I talk about hydrogen: energy vector. Hydrogen is not important as a substance, as a substance it is very, very expensive. Hydrogen is important as an energy vector (…), energy storage. We have learned to use energies that we can control (…), but the energy that God gives us for free – sun or wind, is not at our fingertips. Then, all this excess, all this development, we must conduct it in such a way that you can capitalize on the moments of maximum production, because they are maximum when consumption is minimum and vice versa”, argued Ioan Iordache, scientific researcher, general director, National Institute for Research, Development and Testing for Electrotechnics Craiova.
Price, market, support schemes
“First and foremost, we need to talk about price and market. Ultimately, hydrogen or biomethane is a product that must enter into this normal relationship: to be sold, to be bought and, further, the price must be accessible, acceptable, to support the business behind it. This total lack of a hydrogen market in Romania is very important, but also of any concern regarding the market”, said the president of the Smart Energy Association, Dumitru Chisăliță.
Cristian Călin, director of Green Gas Programs and Decarbonization Solutions at Delgaz Grid, intervened and argued that support schemes from the government are necessary. “Here, I would make a comparison with what the Europeans do. When they develop something, they immediately put in a subsidy. That’s how biomethane started in Germany, France and all countries, with even double support schemes.”
Hydrogen in Azomureș
“In the short term, priority is given to energy efficiency projects, but also combined with the production of green hydrogen. Why? Because the price of green hydrogen is about double, triple, compared to the price of hydrogen produced by burning fossil fuels. Therefore, we propose that the project to streamline ammonia production be combined with a green hydrogen component. This is a project for which we are waiting for funding approval, we are in the final phase of technical clarifications with the European Commission, it is a 200 million euro project, for which we can obtain a fairly good funding intensity. Most likely, when we obtain the funding, we will move on to implementation, because the deadline is somewhere in 2029,” said Aurel Botezan, Director of Energy Management and Green Transition at Azomureș.
The Azomureș representative also mentioned a series of projects. “We still have in our sights and in preparation, preparing the facility to absorb as much green hydrogen from imports as possible. We already have various initiatives to be able to increase the amount of green or low carbon hydrogen, which will be processed in ammonia facilities. We are thinking confidently about blending (edition n.r.). We hope that it will be regulated and that we can also include it in our plans. We are also going in other directions regarding green transition projects.” Azomureș is also part of a project, together with several universities and companies, that is trying to find a way to produce hydrogen and methanol using “wasted” energy from industrial facilities. “This project is called Photosint and will be completed sometime at the end of next year.”
“We also have a collaboration with the Târgu Mureș Metropolitan Area. We are in the phase of developing a feasibility study for a project, through which we can be an energy center, considering the skills in working with and managing hydrogen. To be able to become a hub to be able to feed the potential transport mobility of Mureș County”, added Aurel Botezan.
Delgaz Grid projects and tests
“Radical solutions – all electric, all green – are not feasible in the medium and long term. However, we believe in the feasibility of hybrid solutions, which involve green electricity/green gas/central heating/geothermal energy, etc., with a transition period of using natural gas and nuclear energy. At the same time, green gases, hydrogen/biomethane, are among the few solutions that can balance the variability of renewable sources and the volatility of production/consumption”, considered Dr. Cristian Călin, Director of Green Gas Programs and Decarbonization Solutions at Delgaz Grid.
Delgaz Grid has already taken the first steps in converting to H₂ networks through the 20HyGrid project, which demonstrated that it is possible and safe to use a 20 vol.% hydrogen and natural gas mixture in the distribution networks and natural gas installations/appliances existing in Romania.
Cristian Călin stated that an extension of the initial project has also been completed. “We tested both 23% and 30%, and devices from commercial customers, but not large industry: grain dryers, large pizza ovens, high-power thermal power plants for institutions – all kinds of devices, let’s see how they work on different device technologies. It’s completed, the report follows.”
“The purpose of these tests is to reach results and conclusions that can form the basis for the development of technical norms at the national level. We have three other new projects, one on biomethane, through which we want to take biogas from a producer and condition it to biomethane. That conditioned biomethane can be introduced into natural gas networks. Another project is the expansion of the 20HyGrid project from 2023 in the medium term. That is, to bring that percentage of 23% hydrogen in gases, increased to 30%, for at least six months into the homes of people in three localities, on one street in each of the three localities. We want to see how the appliances in homes behave over time, in the long term,” explained Cristian Călin.
He also mentioned that the behavior of home users will also be monitored from the perspective of compliance with safety rules, because the presence of hydrogen in installations imposes stricter rules.
“Through a third project, we want to introduce 100% pure hydrogen into an existing network, but with new devices dedicated to hydrogen,” added Cristian Călin.
“The energy transition happens where companies find feasible solutions. It is an opportunity, perhaps unique, for our generation, as transformative as Artificial Intelligence. Romania has the chance to become a credible supplier of green energy, and the opportunity requires the courage to take the first step before we have all the answers,” said Andrei Gusan, leader of the Mureș branch of the Romanian Business Leaders Foundation, co-organizer of the event.