As the country decarbonises and moves towards a net zero carbon future, natural gas will continue to play an important role while we change over to sources of renewable energy. One of these will be renewable gas. Which is what the Te Horo hydrogen blending pilot is all about. Keep scrolling for everything you need to know about this New Zealand-first project.
Hydrogen blending: a big step along the path to net zero
The Te Horo hydrogen blending pilot
We’ve always been a country of pioneers, and this is another great example
Firstgas, with gas distribution businesses, Gas Net, Nova Energy, Powerco and Vector, are undertaking a WorkSafe-approved pilot for four months in 2025. During the Pilot, hydrogen will be blended into the natural gas pipeline incrementally, starting at 2% and moving up to a maximum of 15% near the end of the pilot.
Te Horo has been selected due to its small and accessible location and pipeline compatibility. We’re working with 14 energy pioneering households who are receiving the blended gas in their homes.
The beauty of blending a small percentage of hydrogen with natural gas is that gas appliances operate as they usually do, meaning people can still enjoy all the normal benefits associated with their standard natural gas supply.
We know hydrogen blending can be done because it’s already happening overseas
A huge amount of research is underway in the UK and Australia and networks are already successfully piloting blends of up to 20% hydrogen.
Five years’ worth of hard work has gone into planning this pilot. We are working closely on all aspects of the pilot with WorkSafe NZ (who is responsible for overseeing energy safety in New Zealand, including gas networks) and we have their approval to conduct this pilot in Te Horo.
How it works
Hydrogen blending equipment has been installed and connected to the Firstgas distribution pipeline. We haven’t had to make any additional modifications to the pipeline and we are constantly monitoring the site to ensure the pipeline network is performing well during the pilot.
It takes all of us!
The gas sector is working to progress New Zealand’s decarbonisation goals and the future success of renewable gas. Firstgas is working closely with other natural gas distribution businesses including Vector, Powerco, GasNet and Nova, and energy retailers to deliver this New Zealand-first project.
We’re also helping fund earthquake strengthening of the Te Horo Community Hall as a thank you to this energy pioneering community!
Frequently asked questions
Clarus is one of New Zealand’s largest energy groups, with brands that touch many parts of the energy supply chain – from energy transmission and distribution to retail supply and even storage.
Firstgas connects over 60,000 homes and businesses with natural gas through our gas distribution and high-pressure transmission systems, supporting our country’s economy.
Blending renewable hydrogen and natural gas is part of our future fuels strategy to help the country meet its climate action goals. So we’ve been working with some of New Zealand’s natural gas distribution businesses (Vector, Powerco, GasNet and Nova Energy) and energy retailers with active customers on the Te Horo network to explore the potential introduction and blending of a small amount of hydrogen into an existing pipeline.
In 2021 Firstgas released study findings confirming that gas pipeline networks in New Zealand could carry up to 20% hydrogen by 2035, with a move to 100% hydrogen by 2050. Now it’s time to test these findings with Aotearoa New Zealand’s first hydrogen blend pilot.
- Scalable and dependable
- Low carbon - can be made cleanly using just water and renewable electricity
- Ideal complement to solar and wind electricity generation
- Storable and transportable at large scale
In the future hydrogen in pipelines could provide a low carbon option for homes, businesses and industry.
Hydrogen is a key part of the effort to decarbonise New Zealand, especially for a range of key industries such as steel, glass and concrete production as well as heavy transport, whose path to decarbonisation would otherwise be very difficult.
For the energy sector it represents an additional source of clean energy to displace emissions and meet our net zero targets by 2050.
Hydrogen is being blended into the natural gas pipeline incrementally, starting at 2% and moving up to a maximum of 15% near the end of the pilot. The beauty of blending a small percentage of hydrogen with natural gas is that gas appliances operate as they usually do, meaning people can still enjoy all the normal benefits associated with their standard natural gas supply.
Blending equipment has been installed and contained within the current delivery point enclosure on Te Horo Beach Road. No additional modifications to the distribution network have been necessary, and detailed monitoring and verification procedures are in place to ensure network performance during the pilot.
The volumes of natural gas and hydrogen through the station will be metered allowing accurate dosing of hydrogen to be achieved. The final composition of the blended gas will be measured and controlled by gas chromatograph to ensure all requirements of the pilot are met.
Te Horo has been selected due to its small and accessible location and pipeline compatibility. The pilot is working with 14 local households who are receiving the blended gas in their home appliances.
Safety is our highest priority. Five years’ worth of hard work has gone into planning this WorkSafe NZ-approved pilot. We ensure safety for the Te Horo distribution network trial with the following approach:
- Coordinating closely with WorkSafe NZ (which is responsible for overseeing energy safety in New Zealand, including for gas networks).
- Adaptation of best practice from successful hydrogen-blend pilot projects in existing gas networks overseas.
- Extensive and detailed technical due diligence on our network assets and on the individual consumer appliances involved in the pilot.
- Transparent and detailed engagement with WorkSafe, expert consultants, appliance manufacturers and independent verifiers.
- Regular design and construction reviews to ensure blending equipment meets all safety criteria.
- Detailed monitoring and verification procedures in place to ensure network performance during the pilot itself.
- Oversight of the pilot by a governance group consisting of senior representatives of each of NZ’s gas distribution businesses.
Hydrogen blended gas performs in almost the same way as natural gas does without hydrogen. This includes flame colour (which is unchanged), odorisation and for all practical purposes, ‘time to-boil’.
A similar study undertaken by Gas Networks Ireland found “there were no observed perceptible changes in the operation of the appliances using hydrogen blends, and current domestic meters demonstrated compatibility with hydrogen blends for volume measurement”.
We know hydrogen blending can be done because it’s already happening overseas. Over 30 countries currently have a national hydrogen strategy in place and $70 billion of funding has been committed globally over 228 ongoing projects. A huge amount of research is underway in the UK and Australia and networks are already successfully piloting blends of up to 20% hydrogen to reduce their emissions. Hydrogen boilers are also in the advanced stages of development and testing, as well as ‘hydrogen ready’ boilers, which can easily be switched over by a technician when networks transition to hydrogen.
Firstgas regularly collaborates with key partners on hydrogen programmes overseas. This includes being a contributing member of the Future Fuels Cooperative Research Centre in Australia and maintaining regular engagement with engineers from IGEM in the United Kingdom on their hydrogen blend and 100% hydrogen demonstration projects.
This Te Horo hydrogen blend pilot will follow in the footsteps of numerous successful international projects of very similar design, most notably in Australia and the United Kingdom. These countries have very similar consumer appliances, gas network materials, operating pressures and standards and have already undertaken similar hydrogen blend pilots as is planned for Te Horo, along with extensive research and development.
A comprehensive review of the international demonstration projects, field tests and research concludes that natural gas blended with hydrogen up to 15mol% is compatible for use in consumer appliances and in our gas networks.
Some people have raised a concern that, because of its smaller molecular size, hydrogen has a greater propensity to ‘leak’ than natural gas. International research and field tests have dedicated substantial resources to examining this concern. A review of this material concludes that at blend percentages of <20mol% hydrogen, there is no statistically significant change in leakage compared with 0mol% hydrogen.
In addition to the international evidence and the detailed materials studies conducted by Firstgas supporting this conclusion, we will be closely supervising and monitoring the network for any sign of leaks or degradation and in the unlikely case that any concerns are found, the hydrogen blend will immediately cease and the issues rectified before any further hydrogen blending is carried out.
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Why Hydrogen is safe
Hydrogen has been safely stored, transported and used across industries over many decades. Just like natural gas, LPG and petrol, hydrogen safety is about understanding how the gas behaves and how to handle it. The good news is hydrogen has been well studied and there is already significant evidence on safe handling.
Paul Goodeve, Clarus Chief Executive
It’s a confusing time for energy consumers, especially those using gas. We are told on the one hand that our country needs to go 100% electric and that our gas supplies are dwindling. Yet gas remains critical to supporting our country’s variable renewable electricity generation sources.