Design and Operation Considerations of Natural Gas, Hydrogen and Blended Gas

SoCal Gas has built the first demonstration home in the United States operating off a blend of natural gas and hydrogen. The project plant design includes green hydrogen production through electrolysis, hydrogen storage, gas blending, a hydrogen fuel cell, a microgrid control center and a large modular home to be used for showcasing and testing. While the hydrogen fuel cell is providing backup power to the home, the appliances within the home that are utilizing the blended gas are a gas range, tankless water heater, clothes dryer, fireplace, and BBQ grill.

For the design and operational implementation of this system, SCG had to consider the safety differences between hydrogen and natural gas to modify existing standard design and operational procedures to build a safe, operational system. SCG will share key learnings from this project including hazardous classification considerations, venting and purging requirements, standoff distance constraints, gas accumulation differences between hydrogen and natural gas, and vendor certification needs. SCG will also discuss learnings from making modifications to training and operational procedures traditionally designed for 100% natural gas.