The great energy revolution is challenging all actors in the sector. One of the agents of change is Gasgrid, which is responsible for building the national hydrogen infrastructure to accelerate clean economic growth. According to a government decision in principle, Finland aims for a leading position in the hydrogen economy in Europe. At the same time, the benefits of other clean gases have begun to be increasingly apparent.

Gasgrid’s CEO Olli Sipilä notes that when fossil fuels are replaced large scale, a new kind of “interconnecting infrastructure” will be needed.

“There are always ups and downs and uncertainties in transition, but the direction is clear,” he says. “We Finns have permission to try and permission to succeed when the baselines are good.”

Hydrogen is hard to beat when energy needs to be transported effectively over long distances.

“A 1-metre diameter hydrogen pipe can replace as many as 15 large power lines,” is the comparison Sipilä makes.

No time – yet zero emissions are a way off

Back in the day, transitions to coal and oil took place over several decades – whereas the current transition to zero emissions needs to take place about three times faster than previous energy transitions. To reach climate targets, zero-emission hydrogen is needed in Finland and in Europe in those places where electricity is not the solution.

“It is against this backdrop that Gasgrid is responsible for developing the national hydrogen infrastructure, international infrastructure cooperation and the hydrogen market in Finland and the surrounding area. The objective is to create good and predictable investment conditions in Finland for hydrogen production and for the downstream industry using it. A key role in all this is to create a genuine multi-gas platform,” Sipilä says.

“The multi-gas platform will draw on all the expertise that our organisation has accumulated in gases over a very long time,” says Sipilä, who has served as Gasgrid’s CEO since the company was established in 2020.

Excellence in the gas industry is a strength

The multi-gas platform means that in the future, some of Gasgrid’s pipelines will transport hydrogen and perhaps even carbon dioxide in addition to conventional natural gas, biogas, synthetic methane and LNG. These gases contrast greatly with natural gas, for example, since they are low- or zero-emission gases.

“We are already world-class in terms of reliability and safety with regard to methane. The hydrogen side on the other hand is based on our solid gas expertise, which we are now extending to hydrogen.”

New solutions are currently being explored for biogases and synthetic methane, for example, to get the gas to flow in the pipeline. “One possibility for market participants is the use of tanks. Plans are already underway with customers to enable this,” Sipilä says.

Carbon dioxide can also be captured from factory smoke stacks and transported through pipes for downstream processing.

“Carbon capture can be used to produce, for example, synthetic methanol,” Sipilä says.

Three aspects of the hydrogen revolution      

The priority on the CEO’s desk is overall development of the energy system to deliver economic growth, security and other strategic benefits for Finland through gases. Gasgrid will continue to develop the methane system, for example to benefit industry and the electricity system. The latest fastest developing area is the promotion of the hydrogen infrastructure and market through substantial measures. According to Sipilä, this requires focusing on three things simultaneously to maximise the benefits for Finland.

“Firstly, for the Finnish hydrogen backbone, we need routing, licensing and thorough planning. North-south energy transmission needs are growing rapidly and greatly. The hydrogen infrastructure could be one of the keys to this solution. We need to find out how much hydrogen can be produced and how much is needed,” he explains.

The second goal involves the creation of hydrogen valleys. A hydrogen valley is a regional hydrogen infrastructure that combines green hydrogen production, consumption and storage with the transport infrastructure. In the first phase of the hydrogen revolution, there could be several such domestic hydrogen valleys across Finland.

“We need to identify and participate in building these key valleys to attract high manufacturing and technology development to Finland,” Sipilä says.

The third goal concerns international cooperation: hydrogen should be able to flow across national and continental borders. This may have a major impact both on attracting investment in hydrogen production and downstream processing in Finland and on the utilisation of subsidies. This will speed up bringing more jobs and economic growth to Finland.

Playing an open hand for the best outcome

“Much still needs to happen over the next couple of years for the hydrogen network to remain on schedule. The final window for investment decisions is 2026-28 at the earliest,” Sipilä notes.

“This means the hydrogen infrastructure could be in use in the earlier 2030s.”

“Building the hydrogen infrastructure is a national major project involving many stakeholders. Broad social acceptance of hydrogen and clean growth is “of utmost importance”,” Sipilä considers.

“Open dialogue is highlighted when meeting stakeholders. While we have no ready answers to all questions, there is strong determination to find the best solutions,” he says.

“The principles are now being created to guide development of the hydrogen infrastructure for decades to come.”

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WHO?

Name:

Olli Sipilä

Job:

CEO, Gasgrid Finland Oy

Education:

Master of Science in Economics & Business Administration, Industrial Management, 2003

Best thing about the job:

Meaningfulness

Motto:

It’s enough to always try your best, even when the challenge is big. When working together, a good enough solution is usually always found in the end.

Hobbies:

Fly fishing, cycling, swimming, cooking, and the most recent hobby – golf

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Gasgrid’s strategy 2024–2026 – aiming for a flexible, low-emission energy system

Gasgrid’s updated strategy for 2024-2026 emphasises the promotion of a clean transition in society. In practice, this means creating jobs, increasing Finland’s energy independence and significantly accelerating the company’s multi-gas and hydrogen business.

At the same time, Gasgrid wants to promote the significant market growth of low-emission gases, such as green hydrogen and synthetic methane, in the energy system on the journey towards a carbon-neutral Finland by 2035. In addition, the company will provide value, predictability and flexibility to customers and security of supply to society through a reliable gas platform.

The five priority areas of the new strategy are:

• developer of an agile multi-gas platform
• hydrogen economy unifier
• accelerator of investments
• responsible changemaker
• fosterer of forerunners

Text: Sami Anteroinen

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure plays a key role in construction of a hydrogen pipeline. Planning the hydrogen pipeline route carefully considers the views of landowners and other stakeholders.

Merja Autiola, Permit Coordinator at Gasgrid, says that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) provides an opportunity to assure various stakeholders that all obligations will be dealt with responsibly from start to finish.

“The good thing about the EIA procedure is that it gives all parties a possibility to be heard,” Autiola says.

The EIA procedure begins with careful planning. This includes planning the preliminary routing options for the hydrogen transmission pipeline with municipalities,” says Tommi Raappana, Land usage planning manager at Gasgrid.

“We review the feedback from municipalities and modify the hydrogen infrastructure route plan accordingly,” Raappana says.

Thorough groundwork

“The EIA procedure is a two-stage process,” says Merja Autiola. “The first stage sets out a plan of how the actual assessment will be carried out, what surveys and reports will be prepared as the actual report phase progresses, and what the current knowledge of the construction area is,” Autiola explains.

The authority approves this stage; in addition, this stage already allows stakeholders to provide feedback and comments.

The second stage, the report stage, includes the actual impact assessment, for which the activities described above in the programme stage are planned – such as mapping, noise modelling, landscape impact assessment and air emission calculations.

“All available information on the environment and nature in the area is brought together and compared with the impact of the pipeline construction on a thematic basis. The end result is a summary of the different types of impacts and a recommendation on the best route and impact mitigation measures to be taken into account in pipeline construction,” Autiola sums up.

Straightforward construction

Construction of the onshore hydrogen infrastructure is actually simple: dig a deep trench, lay the hydrogen pipeline at the bottom and fill the trench in. From an environmental perspective, it is important to minimise adverse impacts: for example, not felling trees unnecessarily and not moving around in mobile machinery outside of the construction sites.

“A responsible operator also restores the landscape once construction work has been completed,” Autiola adds.

The hydrogen route is preferably planned through a field because farming can continue as before once the pipeline is in the ground.

Safety distances to be defined

One important factor is the safety distance of buildings and similar structures from the pipeline itself and from valve stations and pressure reduction and compressor stations. Unlike natural gas, no safety distances have yet been defined for hydrogen.

“We’re in preliminary discussions with the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) and it seems that safety distances will be very similar to those for natural gas;” Tommi Raappana says.

The contact authority for the EIA procedure is the ELY Centre, which will give its opinion on Gasgrid’s environmental impact assessment. The ELY Centre among other things, assesses the conditions under which the project can proceed.

“Based on the ELY centre’s opinion, we can select a specific route for further planning and do more detailed planning,” Raappana says.

The next phase will see a start made on the licensing process: water permits, expropriation permits related to land use and other necessary permits must be obtained before construction work can begin.

“Changes to the expropriation procedure are also in the pipeline. A pending amendment to the law will increase land expropriation payments by around 25%,” Raappana says.

Crossings under rivers a challenge

Autiola points out that crossings under rivers typically pose the greatest challenge to planning and implementing the hydrogen infrastructure. “Excavation work must be done to be able to lay a pipeline under a river bed and this could cause temporary turbidity.

Water turbidity is harmful, especially in small rivers and important aquatic habitats, so the technology used must be carefully considered.

“We want to take particularly good care of all water bodies,” Autiola adds.

Raappana says that groundwater areas also require special care.

“For wells, we sample the water before construction starts and again after construction if there is reason to suspect changes in water quality.”

Landowner’s voice counts

The views of landowners are listened to throughout the planning process for the hydrogen infrastructure. The aim is for every landowner to feel that their views are really taken into account,” Raappana says.

“The transmission pipeline route could also change at a landowner’s request if there are good grounds to do so,” Raappana adds.

A successful process requires seamless communication, including in the field. Before construction work starts, an initial site inspection is carried out to check the location of wells and cables on site, for example.

“A lot of practical things are worked out with the landowner, such as what happens to the installation road during construction. It is up to the landowner to decide whether to restore the area or leave the access road in place,” Raappana explains.

Working together delivers results

Autiola and Raappana say that besides landowners, also other stakeholders – from municipalities and regional councils to the Finnish Defence Forces and reindeer herding areas – have an important role to play in reaching a successful outcome.

“We strive for good dialogue with all stakeholders, since open and transparent communication will increase the acceptability of the whole project,” Autiola sums up.

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Key figures on the preliminary routes of the national hydrogen transport infrastructure planned by Gasgrid:

• Total length of the hydrogen infrastructure: > 1,5oo km
• Number of municipalities along the route: 70
• Number of properties along the route: 7,484
• Number of Natura rivers along the route: 8
• Landing points: 2
• Groundwater areas along the route: 54
• Compressor stations: 2-3
• Number of crossings under large rivers: 29
• Number of crossings under medium-sized rivers: 62
• Number of crossings under small-sized rivers: 28

Avoided in routing

–National parks, nature conservation areas, Natura areas (excluding long river areas), conservation programme areas, important natural formations, groundwater areas, lakes

–Traditional biotypes

–Archaeological sites

–Areas challenging for construction: cliffs and rapids, rocky areas

–Urban areas, buildings, cemeteries, mines, dams, local detailed plan areas

Recommended routing

–Demand areas for the hydrogen pipeline (i.e. hydrogen production and consumption points based on market data)

–Cultivated fields, grassland, proximity to roads

–Areas with favourable soil conditions for construction

 

Read more:

Gasgrid invites municipalities and regional actors to partner in developing the national hydrogen infrastructure

Carbon steel is suitable for hydrogen transmission pipelines, considering the boundary conditions

ABC of hydrogen safety

A key concern in construction of the hydrogen infrastructure is pipeline durability. Hydrogen is a small molecule gas and is known to cause embrittlement in materials – but can hydrogen also embrittle the carbon steel pipelines in which there are plans to transport it?

Pessimistic scenarios have already begun to paint a picture of the need to develop completely new steel grades for hydrogen pipelines or the project won’t work. Expensive steel development could slow down the creation of a hydrogen infrastructure in Finland – and cause costs to skyrocket.

Marko Ikävalko, Head of Operations and Maintenance at Gasgrid, says that there is experience from around the world of hydrogen transmission in steel pipelines – and hydrogen embrittlement has not been found to be a problem if choice of the pipeline material takes into account the properties of hydrogen and the operating conditions.

“Factors to be taken into account in the transportation of hydrogen include the maximum pressure used in transmission, pressure fluctuations and the flow rate,” Ikävalko notes. The existing natural gas transmission pipeline could also be used to transport hydrogen to some extent with certain limitations/restrictions.

Recent results from the Centre for Advanced Steels Research at the University of Oulu confirm information from the field: modern carbon steel pipes are suitable for hydrogen usage.

Effect of hydrogen on materials depends on many factors

Nevertheless, care must be taken with hydrogen since how it affects materials depends on many things – in the case of steels, in addition to pressure, factors such as microstructure, grain size, alloying elements and operation temperature affect. The durability of hydrogen pipelines and hydrogen tanks in cold Nordic conditions is naturally one research topic.

Hanna Kinnunen, Development Manager RDI & technology at Gasgrid, confirms that understanding the phenomena caused by hydrogen in materials, such as the effects on the mechanical properties and fracture toughness of steel, is essential in the hydrogen development project. There is already much information available which has been channelled into international standards, the most comprehensive of which currently is the US standard ASME B31.12.

“Updated in 2023, the regulations and recommendations in the ASME B31.12 standard are based among other things on hydrogen embrittlement and how it affects materials,” Kinnunen says.

“ASME B31.12 is an important standard also because it addresses and guides both design and operation,” Marko Ikävalko adds.

Steel grade for the hydrogen infrastructure still being studied

Gasgrid is yet to determine the most appropriate steel grade for the hydrogen infrastructure.

“This has not yet been decided. We will study the matter thoroughly before making the actual decision,” Ikävalko says. Once the steel grade has been chosen, the project will move forward by one important step.

“The choice of material will affect operational use throughout the entire lifecycle,” Ikävalko points out. Factors such as the hydrogen transmission capacity and the properties of alternative steel grades in different operating conditions must be considered when selecting the optimal pipeline material. The design basis is safe use throughout the lifecycle.

“In this respect, we are evaluating the optimal steel grade, which doesn’t differ to what we do in Gasgrid’s conventional infrastructure construction,” Ikävalo says, adding that a safety-driven lifecycle approach is the key factor in each phase of the project.

Uniform, welded pipeline does not leak

Common sense says that no matter how robust a hydrogen pipeline is, the biggest question marks are the joints and welding seams: will they hold in all possible conditions? Ikävalko points out that hydrogen is a well-known gas from the process industry, where there is a lot of user experience and applicable solutions available.

“All pipeline joints used will be suitable for use with hydrogen,” he says.

Gasgrid’s policy is that an integral, welded pipeline does not leak.
“The basis is that the pipeline is so well constructed that there are no leaks. Supervision and monitoring will then ensure that everything goes according to plan,” Ikävalko says.

“At the same time, Gasgrid continuously uses the best available knowledge and research results in the field in its own design work for the infrastructure projects,” Hanna Kinnunen adds.

“The use of new research in infrastructure design is important for us,” Kinnunen says.

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Research project establishes safe hydrogen transportation infrastructure in Nordic countries

• The MatHias project (Material and Structural Integrity Assessment for Safe Nordic Hydrogen Transportation Infrastructure) is part of the Nordic Hydrogen Valleys programme. The research project seeks to entrench a safe hydrogen transportation infrastructure in the Nordic countries. The MatHias project is being coordinated by the Norwegian research organisation SINTEF. Besides Gasgrid, other participants from Finland are VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the University of Oulu and SSAB.
• The MatHias project started in 2023 and is studying in particular the durability and integrity of steels for hydrogen pipelines and structures. Hydrogen can cause steel embrittlement, which increases the risk of pipeline fracture, especially in cold temperatures in the Nordics.
• “The MatHias project is an important project from the Nordic perspective, and there is great interest in its findings and research results,” says Hanna Kinnunen at Gasgrid. “The project evaluates and compares the properties of various pipeline steels, developing methodologies to assess the pipeline lifetime and choice of appropriate steel grades. MatHias is just one example of ambitious research being conducted in the field of hydrogen,” Kinnunen adds. Investments in RDI are strong and increasing all the time.

 

Read more:

ABC of hydrogen safety

Hydrogen valley a regional anchor for the hydrogen economy