Baker Hughes Launches Hydrogen-ready Plastic Pipe

US energy engineers Baker Hughes has launched an onshore composite flexible pipe that will be suitable for carrying hydrogen as well as cheaper and more durable than steel, it said January 27.

The pipe offers an economic and greener alternative to resource-intensive onshore steel pipes. Being spoolable, it is easier, faster and more cost-effective to transport and install than steel pipe. This allows installed costs to fall by more than a fifth. Installation also requires fewer onsite support facilities and heavy vehicles, de-risking operations, taking up less width on a pipeline right-of-way and reducing environmental impact on surrounding land, it said. 

It said flexible pipe was "a vital component of today and tomorrow’s energy and industrial sectors – enabling the transport of multiple energy sources, including hydrogen and natural gas.”

It also allows the conversion of existing infrastructure to carry gases. In addition, the pipe’s non-corrosive materials can withstand contaminants without requiring chemical inhibitors, corrosion monitoring and inspection, or disruptive repair work.

Steel reacts badly with hydrogen, becoming brittle under certain conditions and depending on the mixture of other gases in the pipeline.