Where is renewable gas being used?
Around the world, renewable gas is beginning to become a sustainable reality for homes and businesses.
Renewable gas projects in Australia
Australia is on the path to reducing energy emissions for the future. For gas, this means shifting away from natural gas toward renewables. Here’s what’s currently happening around Australia.
Australian Gas Infrastructure Group: Hydrogen Park South Australia
Location: Tonsley Innovation District, Adelaide, South Australia
Hydrogen Park South Australia (HyP SA) was Australia’s first project to blend renewable hydrogen with natural gas into an existing network in May 2021, supplying around 700 customers with an up to 5% (by volume) renewable gas blend at that time.
HyP SA’s output has since been expanded to supply industry and transport, and to increase the volume blend from 5% to 10% to a further 3,000 homes, businesses and schools in Adelaide’s south in the suburbs of Mitchell Park, Clovelly Park and parts of Marion. HyP SA also supplies 100% hydrogen to reduce carbon emissions from transport and industrial sectors.
Find out more at Australian Gas Networks.
Jemena: Western Sydney Hydrogen Hub
Location: Horsley Park, Western Sydney, New South Wales
The Western Sydney Hydrogen Hub (WSHH) generates renewable hydrogen using electrolysis, powered by certified renewable electricity.
The hydrogen is then injected and stored in Jemena’s natural gas network. The hydrogen facility bridges current gas solutions with renewable gas generation – which can help map the longer-term future of the Australian gas industry through the energy transition.
Find out more at Jemena.
ATCO: Hydrogen Community Blending
Location: Jandakot, Western Australia
One of the largest hydrogen blending projects in Australia, ATCO blends renewable hydrogen into the natural gas distribution network in the suburbs of Glen Iris, Treeby Estate and Calleya Estate within the City of Cockburn.
Currently around 3,500 customers receive up to a 10% renewable hydrogen and natural gas blend.
Find out more at ATCO
Jemena: Malabar Biomethane Injection Plant
Location: Malabar, New South Wales
The Malabar Biomethane Injection Plant (MBIP) demonstrates the potential for a biomethane sector to provide a ‘here-and-now’ pathway to help reduce Australia’s overall carbon emissions and create circular economy benefits.
Biomethane can be blended seamlessly into the existing Jemena gas network.
The project has an initial capacity of 95 terajoules of renewable gas per annum. This is about equivalent to the average annual gas usage of 6,300 NSW homes.
The Malabar Biomethane Injection Plant is Asuatralia’s first biomethane facility to be registered under GreenPower’s renewable gas certification scheme.
Australian Gas Infrastructure Group: Hydrogen Park Gladstone
Location: Gladstone, Queensland
HyP Gladstone is Australia’s first renewable hydrogen production facility to deliver an up to 10% renewable gas blend to an entire city’s existing gas network, reaching around 700 homes and businesses.
This project aims to reduce the carbon emissions from local gas supply. It began blending hydrogen into the Gladstone gas distribution network in November 2024.
Find out more at Australian Gas Networks.
Australian Gas Infrastructure Group: Hydrogen Park Murray Valley
Location: Wodonga, Victoria
The Hydrogen Park Murray Valley (HyP MV) project will demonstrate the potential to deliver a lower emissions energy source through the existing gas network for the industrial sector* looking to match or displace their natural gas use with Renewable Gas. This will be achieved through the production of renewable gas and the purchase of renewable gas certificates created for hydrogen produced at HyP Murray Valley through a certification scheme.
*A local manufacturer in Wodonga has contracted to purchase all the RGGO Renewable Gas Certificates created under GreenPower’s renewable gas certification scheme produced from HyP MV to displace their natural gas use)
Find out more at Australian Gas Infrastructure Group.
Australian Gas Infrastructure Group: HyHome
Location: Wollert, Victoria
Hydrogen Home (HyHome) was an Australian-first initiative showcasing 100% hydrogen gas appliances in a residential setting – demonstrating the way of the future for gas in the home.
This typical Australian home replaced standard gas appliances with versions that work on 100% hydrogen in a domestic setting. The type of hydrogen we used in HyHome for demonstration purposes was created from natural gas, however the type we aim to use in the future is created from renewable electricity.
The home boasted 100% hydrogen powered hot water, ducted heating, and cooking via a cooktop and BBQ.
Find out more at Australian Gas Networks
Various: The Australian Hydrogen Centre
The Australian Hydrogen Centre (AHC) brings together industry and government in delivering detailed feasibility studies of blending 10% renewable hydrogen into towns and cities, and ultimately a 100% renewable gas future.
Along with sharing the learnings from Hydrogen Park South Australia (HyP SA), Feasibility studies include:
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- 10% hydrogen blending into selected regional towns in VIC and SA
- 10% hydrogen blending into gas networks of VIC and SA
- 100% hydrogen networks for VIC and SA
Find out more at the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group
Australian Gas Infrastructure Group: Dampier to Bunbury Gas Pipeline Feasibility Study
Location: Western Australia
This project identified an efficient and effective pathway to enable large volumes of hydrogen to be blended into the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline (DBNGP), WA’s key gas transmission pipeline.
This study builds upon AGIGs investigations into the introduction of hydrogen into low pressure gas distribution networks by focusing on the large-scale DBP asset.
Find out more at the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group
APA: Parmelia Gas Pipeline Hydrogen Feasibility Study
Location: Kwinana, Western Australia
APA Group completed a study on the feasibility of converting the southern section of the Parmelia natural gas pipeline in Western Australia to pure hydrogen service.
The study successfully demonstrated it is technically feasible, safe and efficient to operate the section of pipeline at current operating pressure using 100 per cent hydrogen.
Find out more here
Renewable gas projects around the world
We’re not the only ones getting excited about renewable gas – other countries around the world are in various stages of rolling out hydrogen to their networks.
Around the world, renewable gas is beginning to become a reality for homes and businesses.
Biomethane
- Currently around 3.5 Million tonnes of oil equivalent of biomethane are produced worldwide. The vast majority of production lies in European and North American markets, with some countries such as Denmark and Sweden boasting almost 40% and 20% respective shares of biogas/biomethane out of total gas used for energy. Countries outside Europe and North America are catching up quickly, with the number of upgrading facilities in Brazil, China and India tripling since 2015. Learn more here.
- Explore the European Biomethane map with 1,322 biomethane producing facilities. Learn more here.
- Over in America $1.8 billion was invested in new projects last year, according to numbers just released by the American Biogas Council. Learn more here.
- North America Biomethane (referred to as Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) in North America) – RNG Coalition: 300 RNG Facilities Now Operating In North America. Learn more here.
Hydrogen
There are more than 40 projects around the world blending hydrogen into natural gas networks including in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands and the United States. Projects range from blends of 5 to 20% hydrogen by volume, with many projects being scoped for 100% hydrogen communities.
Northern Gas Networks and Cadent: HyDeploy
Location: Keele, England
The HyDeploy project has demonstrated the first steps of hydrogen deployment are safe, technically feasible and non-disruptive, both for the network and domestic users.
This project was the first to blend 20% by volume to 100 homes and 30 faculty buildings and demonstrated the suitability of hydrogen blending with domestic appliances and medium and low-pressure distributions systems.
Find out more here
HyGrove
Location: Low Thornley site, near Gateshead, England
The HyGrove project is two semi -detached homes demonstrating 100% hydrogen appliances that were developed through the Government’s Hy4Heat program and are all manufactured in the UK.
The homes are fitted with hydrogen gas appliances including cookers and hobs, fires and boilers and a hydrogen meter.
This project is demonstrating that the existing gas networks can be used, and households can use the same pipework and radiators to reduce carbon emissions from their homes, with just the replacement of appliances needed.
Find out more here
Port of Rotterdam Hydrogen Backbone
Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands
The Port of Rotterdam will have a hydrogen system that combines production and use, particularly in industry, but also imports and transit flows of hydrogen to other parts of the Netherlands and Northwest Europe. The Port Authority and energy network operator Gasunie are working on an initiative to have the full backbone for hydrogen running through the Port by 2030.
HyGrid Project
Location: Long Island, New York State
The HyGrid Project aims to reduce carbon emissions from existing networks by blending green hydrogen into the existing distribution system and is expected to heat approximately 800 homes and fuel 10 municipal vehicles.
The Town of Hempstead’s existing hydrogen facility was developed in 2009 to provide locally produced green hydrogen for vehicles. This project was a national success in demonstrating the fuelling of transportation by green hydrogen.
In conjunction with the Town of Hempstead the project is now expanding to blend hydrogen for heating homes and transportation at the same time.
Find out more here
ATCO: Heartland Hydrogen Hub
Location: Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta.
ATCO is constructing a hydrogen facility in ATCO’s Alberta Heartland Energy Centre. This potentially world-scale clean hydrogen project will be used to supply clean hydrogen to the Alberta gas grid, while also making hydrogen volumes available for Alberta’s other industrial, municipal, and commercial transport users.
The project represents an important step in fostering a hydrogen ecosystem in Canada by providing a clean fuel alternative that is competitive with incumbent fuels.
Find out more here
Firstgas: Hydrogen Refuelling Stations
Location: Aotearoa, New Zealand
Hirigna are developing a hydrogen refuelling network across New Zealand and are partnering with Firstgas to investigate whether hydrogen can be transported through their existing pipeline network.
Find out more here
Rheinische NETZgesellschaft : 20% Hydrogen Blending Trial
Location: Erftstadt, Germany
A 20% hydrogen blending trial in Germany has been supplying 100 homes via the existing gas networks.
Prior to the trail commencing, all participants’ household gas appliances were tested with a 23% hydrogen blend to ensure suitability for the trial. This trial was successfully concluded at the end of 2023.
Find out more here
Australians love natural gas. It’s a safe and reliable energy for the appliances we use for cooking, heating and hot water. But to meet our net zero targets we need to evolve the way we use gas including with renewable alternatives.
Australia needs many solutions to supply sustainable energy to homes and businesses into the future – so say hello to renewable gas! Like any great recipe, it’s all about what’s in the mix. Put simply, renewable gas is usually derived from organic waste (biomethane) or renewable electricity and water (hydrogen). Renewable gas can be blended into our existing gas supply over time. So whether it’s a dash, dollop, or eventually a larger portion, renewable gas is only one piece of the puzzle in reducing carbon emission as Australia moves towards a more sustainable energy future.