The Regional Gas Company (RGC) has successfully tested the injection of a 20% concentration of hydrogen mixed with natural gas into cabinet-type gas control points at a test site in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv region.

"Cabinet-type gas control points are a key component of the entire gas system of the country. In fact, this means that as soon as complex tests are completed, including the tested meters and pipes, gas control points, as the main safety element, will be suitable for operation with a 20% hydrogen mixture. As a result, the safety and continuity of work will be ensured," Ihor Hotsyk, deputy head of the RGC's hydrogen project, said in a commentary to the Green Deal portal.

The tests are carried out as part of the company's hydrogen project and at this stage involve testing a 20% gas-hydrogen mixture in cabinet-type gas control points by RGC Production, a plant for gas equipment production.

"RGC Production follows quality standards thanks to cooperation with international business partners, with the help of which we complete our products. In particular, now all five types of cabinet-type gas control points installed at the landfill are equipped with Italian Pietro Fiorentini regulators, which are certified to work with a 20% hydrogen mixture from the manufacturer," project manager of RGC Production Oleksandr Volovych said in a commentary to the Green Deal portal.

He pointed out that products of RGC Production are unique in their kind, since nowhere in the world has he seen H2-ready analogs in such a complex. "Finally, Ukraine has its own technological products for working with hydrogen. In the future, we hope to sell products outside of Ukraine," Volovych said.

According to gas workers, a 20% concentration of hydrogen in a mixture with natural gas is still the most optimal mixture for the current model of the gas distribution system in Ukraine. As the hydrogen concentration rises, there is a drop in pressure and leakage.

Earlier, similar tests were successfully completed at a test site in Zhytomyr region.

The tests will last a month at test sites in five regions of Ukraine. The RGC Production product testing process is overseen by the world leader in certification and quality control of processes and products Bureau Veritas.

As reported, the RGC intends, as a practical experiment, to offer residents of two villages with 50-100 houses to use a gas-hydrogen mixture for heating and domestic purposes from 2023. The experiment is scheduled to be completed by 2025. Before this, the gas-hydrogen mixture in different proportions must be tested on household gas appliances and gas meters in closed networks and at landfills without consumers. To identify all kinds of risks, such experiments will last until mid-2022.