The CANDHy project co-organised its 3rd SHIMMER-CANDHy Cluster Workshop together with the SHIMMER project on Tuesday, 9 June, in Brussels, Belgium. The event brought together partners and stakeholders to exchange the latest findings on the integrity and performance of non-steel metallic natural gas distribution networks operating with hydrogen and blends of hydrogen/natural gas.
The workshop was hosted by GERG – European Gas Research Group, where Ludovico Mazzocco, Project Officer at GERG, opened the session and welcomed participants. The programme began with an overview of recent results from the SHIMMER project, followed by presentations from the CANDHy consortium highlighting key technical developments.
Virginia Madina, researcher in Materials and Processes at Tecnalia, presented the results of CANDHy’s experimental campaigns on non-steel metallic materials exposed to a range of hydrogen concentrations. These studies are designed to assess material behaviour and tolerance under conditions representative of hydrogen-ready distribution networks.
Jean-Baptiste Jorcin, Senior Researcher in corrosion and material degradation at Tecnalia, introduced the CANDHy database, which compiles data on hydrogen compatibility of metals. This resource is intended to support informed material selection for future hydrogen transport and distribution infrastructure.
Marina Cabrini, researcher in Corrosion and Electrochemistry at the University of Bergamo, also presented insights from a semi-empirical model developed to identify hydrogen-induced embrittlement in metallic materials.
SHIMMER partners featured updates on ongoing efforts to enhance hydrogen integration in gas networks. This included an overview of the SHIMMER++ tool, used for parametric analysis of gas flow and mixing behaviour in network infrastructures, as well as the SHIMMER Database, which consolidates information on materials and components used in existing European gas infrastructure. The project partners also presented progress on assessing gas leak detection methods for natural gas–hydrogen mixtures.
