Romania’s gas transmission operator Transgaz has signed a declaration of intent with Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries to jointly prepare tests of a centrifugal compressor intended to move hydrogen through Romania’s existing gas transmission pipelines. The agreement was reached in Tokyo at the fourth Romania\u2013Japan Innovation Forum, with Transgaz chief executive Ion Sterian and Kawasaki Energy and Marine Solutions president Motohiko Nishimura as signatories.<\/p>\n
The two companies plan to test the compressor in a safe, closed-loop system that will include an industrial electrolyser. The trial will feed into ROHYD \u2014 Romania and Hydrogen \u2014 a Transgaz pilot programme set up to determine the implications of carrying a natural gas and hydrogen mixture through the network.<\/p>\n
Transgaz describes the equipment as a global first. A joint demonstration project, covering hardware and research, is estimated at \u20ac21 million. The declaration of intent does not yet fix the test site, assign responsibilities between the partners, or set a schedule; those details are to be negotiated in a separate project agreement.<\/p>\n
Sterian said he wants Romania to serve as a European entry point for Kawasaki and to establish domestic manufacturing around compressor technology. The Transgaz 10-year transmission network development plan, valued at over \u20ac4.9 billion, includes retrofitting the existing gas infrastructure to carry hydrogen blended with natural gas; adapting the network for hydrogen and other green gases is a stated long-term priority for the operator.<\/p>\n