Pratap Patil, Business Development Director and Olivier Revel, Welding Development & Welding methods Manager, Serimax, discuss welding pipelines for hydrogen through a comprehensive approach involving material selection, welding techniques, safety protocols and stringent quality control measures.
In the realm of oil and gas, where any compromise in weld integrity can lead to dire consequences – such as pipeline failure – meticulous attention to detail is paramount. At Serimax, we use our specialised expertise and collaboration between engineers, welders, and materials scientists to address the unique challenges associated with welding of hydrogen application pipelines and associated infrastructure.
Hydrogen has, for a long time, been sold as a miracle solution, and as a way to help prematurely reach net-zero targets. But with little buy in and investment, due to the lack of compliant infrastructure, and economical but not viable solutions, the technology associated and needed for the construction of hydrogen infrastructures has been put to one side.
Today, despite several hurdles on the way and various colour variants, the hydrogen approach to what can be classed as green energy seems to be turning a page.
So, is it all green lights and rainbows for hydrogen pipelines? As a welding company that has already started to contribute to this sector, and as we see hydrogen getting the backing it needs from government officials and key decision makers, the urgency for this transition is evident. As part of our transition to renewable energy and low carbon projects, Serimax is heavily involved in welding hydrogen pipelines, offshore wind-farm structures, CO2 pipelines and certain elements from nuclear plants. This symbiotic relationship supports the transition to a sustainable energy system, reduces car-bon emissions, and enhances energy security and is why Serimax is so keen to be involved in such pipeline structures. It looks like getting there could take some time but together, with repeatable solutions, skills transferals... it’s clear that the industry needs to collaborate, discover and deliver it to make our heavy industry greener and in turn reach net-zero. As the hydrogen revolution is here, Serimax is ready to tackle all your welding challenges. Together with the skills transfer from the oil and gas industry the pace and weight for constructing the hydrogen infrastructure is upon us – we need to build what has previously been done in three decades in just one.
Collaborate
Working on key hydrogen challenges such as embrittlement, leakage and permeability, infrastructure, cost and collaborating to make this revolution happen is key; to delay the hydrogen revolution would be a mistake and to make possible a speedy delivery of infrastructure needs to be done collaboratively by industry experts working together to make this revolution possible. Previous experience and resilience are two core elements for success, bringing hydrogen transferrable skills will help increase the productivity of hydrogen projects. With over three decades of experience in providing welding services for heavy sour service projects with stringent technical demands in line with H2 requirements means that we are poised to join the challenge and make the safe welding of hydrogen infrastructures whether pipeline or piping, possible. With our expertise, we’re driving innovation in the energy transition, enhancing welding operations for unparalleled excellence.
With this in mind, we can manage the welding challenges that hydrogen infrastructures bring to the table. Identify and develop new assessment methodologies of hydrogen induced damage at microstructure level either for pipe girth welds and pipe material. Some of our work includes providing welds using our latest welding strategy to keep control of the hardness level. Our secret recipe of successful welding of hydrogen application pipeline and piping evolved from our experience of sour and severe sour service projects.
Below you can see some elements we have worked on to validate our findings.
Risk: H2 embrittlement
Main drivers:
- Pipe material and weldability.
- Filler metal.
- Residual stress.
- Modelling capability.
To reduce the residual stress induced by welding, Serimax applied a narrow gap bevel for its mechanised welding strategy for hydrogen pipelines. This allows also to improve the welding productivity compared to manual welding while resulting in the best quality joints. Our track record of sour and severe sour service projects validates the filler metal used by Serimax is acceptable. For sour service project the weld is tested under H2S environment to demonstrate its resistance to hydrogen sulfide stress cracking. During this test, the weld is also exposed to H2 embrittlement phenomena thanks to H2S pressure (up to 16 bars during testing) and H2 diffusion into the weld structure, allowing to validate that Serimax filler metal is compliant (supply according to our particular purchase specification).
Risk: Root pass internally coated compliant (for hydrogen pipeline projects requiring internal field joint coating)
Main drivers:
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