Gas Engineers to Train with Natural Gas and Hydrogen.
GasNet, the Czech Republic’s largest gas distributor, has opened a unique gas training facility at its site in Pardubice. The modern training and testing centre is the first and only facility of its kind in the Czech Republic and is also exceptional by European and global standards. It will enable gas engineers to undertake practical training, simulate emergency situations and test technologies for the distribution of natural gas, hydrogen and their blends. In addition to gas industry professionals, the facility will also be available for training and educational purposes to firefighters, gas infrastructure contractors and vocational schools.
By constructing the facility, GasNet is strengthening the safety and reliability of its gas distribution network. It will support the continued development of the technical expertise of gas engineers and technicians, while also serving as a safe environment for testing new procedures and technologies associated with the modernisation of the Czech gas sector. This includes new methods for reducing methane emissions and preparations for the potential future distribution of low-carbon gases.
“Opening the Pardubice training facility marks an important milestone for the Czech gas industry. It will allow us to test not only gas infrastructure itself, but also innovative working methods in a controlled and safe environment. This significantly expands opportunities for practical training. The facility will also be open to our contractors, who play a key role in the modernisation of our network and from whom we expect the highest standards of safety,” Andrzej Martynek, Chief Executive Officer of the GasNet Group told The Voice of Renewables..
In addition to natural gas, hydrogen will also be used at the facility. Preparing for the possible future distribution of this low-carbon gas is an important priority for gas engineers. In early May, GasNet launched the regular distribution of a blend containing natural gas and 10% hydrogen as part of a pilot project in Hranice near Aš in the Karlovy Vary Region.
“Alongside testing and training, the facility will also provide a space for educating the next generation of gas engineers from vocational schools, as well as firefighters, who will be able to practise gas leak response procedures together with us,” Martynek added.
Gas engineers and firefighters have a long-standing working relationship, collaborating to protect people and property during incidents involving gas infrastructure. The primary objective of the facility is to improve the safety of gas supplies across the Czech Republic.
“Our emergency response teams most frequently work alongside firefighters when a pipeline has been damaged by a third party, for example during excavation works where contractors have failed to establish the location of underground gas infrastructure in advance. We have now created a safe environment where we can jointly rehearse these emergency situations and improve our coordination. During a real incident, everything must run smoothly and there is no time to explain the basics,” explained Petr Koutný, GasNet’s Chief Operations Officer.
Training with Air Before Working with Gas
The training and testing centre is divided into two sections. The first is an air-based training area where engineers can practise high-risk procedures without using gas. Instead, compressed air is used to accurately and safely replicate the behaviour and properties of gas. At one of several training stations, for example, engineers can demonstrate the force with which a pipeline end cap can be ejected if it has not been properly tightened and inspected.
The second section operates with natural gas and, when required, with natural gas–hydrogen blends or even pure hydrogen. This gas training area also consists of several workstations, including one designed for practising the safe extinguishing of flames caused by gas escaping from a pipeline.
The gas section also enables testing of flaring technologies, where gas released from pipelines is safely burned off. This method is used to reduce methane emissions during maintenance and investment projects where pipelines must be depressurised to allow work to be carried out safely.
Natural gas is supplied to the facility from a nearby medium-pressure gas pipeline connected to a compressed gas storage system. Hydrogen is supplied from a bank of cylinders. The site also includes blending equipment capable of producing gas mixtures with varying proportions of hydrogen and methane. Operating pressures range from 1 bar to 25 bar, and engineers can work with a wide variety of pipeline diameters.
“The facility allows us to simulate a broad range of operational scenarios under realistic conditions. The pipelines are installed in excavations, and we use the same tools and materials that form part of our distribution network and that we work with every day. We can provide training on everything from meter replacement to the initial response to a damaged gas pipeline, including its subsequent full repair. We place enormous emphasis on carrying out both emergency interventions and routine maintenance safely, and the facility has been designed to provide the best possible conditions for realistic and safe training,” said Koutný.
The facility will be used not only for training GasNet employees, gas infrastructure contractors, firefighters and apprentices, but also for testing materials, valves, regulators and other components of gas infrastructure. It is expected to play a particularly important role in testing technologies related to the gradual integration of hydrogen into gas distribution networks.
Valuable Experience for Future Infrastructure Projects
From a construction perspective, the project is also highly significant. It placed demanding requirements on engineering, safety standards and technological preparation.
“There is no comparable facility in the Czech Republic. We drew inspiration from similar projects in Germany, but many of the challenges had to be solved for the first time here. Building the facility has provided us with valuable experience that we can apply to the preparation and delivery of our standard investment projects focused on renewing and modernising the distribution network. Developing the hydrogen section of the facility was particularly valuable from an engineering perspective,” said Pavel Komsa, GasNet’s Director of Construction.
Last year, GasNet invested almost CZK 6 billion in the modernisation of its gas infrastructure and plans to invest at least a comparable amount this year. As part of 580 key construction projects, the company is focusing on the reconstruction of strategic transmission pipelines and local distribution networks, as well as the modernisation of pressure regulation stations.
GasNet expects the new training facility to make a significant contribution to improving workplace safety and the operational reliability of gas infrastructure, enhancing the effectiveness of gas industry training and accelerating the adoption of further innovations across the Czech gas sector.
