NiSource official walks through utility's green hydrogen plans following hub Selections
In an interview with NPM, NiSource Chief Sustainability Officer Dan Creekmur said the company is engaged in conversations revolving around expanding hydrogen development across its utility operating companies following DOE grant funding to hydrogen hubs across the nation.
In particular, NiSource is a member of both the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen Hub (MachH2) and the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ArchH2), which received USD 1bn and USD 925m in federal grants, respectively. Specifically, NiSource operating utilities NIPSCO in Indiana and Columbia Gas of Ohio are members of both hubs and Creekmur says a third utility, Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, is seeking to support ArchH2 if possible, though it is not officially a member.
Creekmur explained that the DOE funding and the hydrogen hubs themselves are important because they represent “multiple sectors coming together that are deeply engaged in research and investment.”
“The hubs obviously represent a significant opportunity in this space,” Creekmur said. “And what’s most important about hydrogen is it can leverage existing natural gas infrastructure.”
Although it is still early days following the announcement of the DOE funding earlier this month, Creekmur says NiSource and its utilities are actively engaging in conversations with third parties and partners through the hubs and is exploring a variety of options including the direct supply of hydrogen to larger industrial customers. Ultimately, he says some of the options on the table will be dependent on where the federal funding is allocated, which are decisions placed on the table of MachH2 itself.
“We all know the big pot of dollars, but we don’t know how that process is going to unfold yet,” Creekmur said. “But I think that’s the point of engaging in these conversations at the outset. I can say we’re seeing a lot of growing interest in hydrogen from our partners and customers and that applications for additional funding are still ongoing even as these awards are granted.
October has been a busy month for NiSource’s hydrogen activity as earlier this month the company also launched a multi-phase hydrogen blending pilot project in Monaca, Pennsylvania through its Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania utility partner. Creekmur explains that this project utilizing a blending skid to mix hydrogen and natural gas at specific levels between 2 and 20 percent to determine optimal blend percentages and associated benefits.
Creekmur notes the project’s usage of a blending skid makes it a unique outlier because it allows the blending to take place before the mix enters the system. This differentiates it from the more widespread method of direct injection and, according to Creekmur, gives the operator much greater control over the project’s output.
“This project is precise, which allows us to measure and understand the impacts at various percentage blends,” Creekmur said. “There’s real value in understanding that from an R&D perspective.”
The pilot is currently being tested in an isolated environment, but Creekmur says the company is evaluating the viability of hydrogen-natural gas blends for other applications including factories and power plants as well as introducing such blends into the company’s existing natural gas infrastructure.
“We don’t always connect hydrogen as working with existing natural gas infrastructure, but it is compatible,” Creekmur said. “That’s the point of our pilot, to be able to take advantage of supply as it comes online in the future.”
NiSource recently obtained FERC approval for Blackstone Infrastructure Partners to take a 19.9% stake in its Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) subsidiary.
*This story was originally published exclusively for NPM subscribers last month.
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