Hydrogen-Natural Gas Blending Demonstration Project

The Hydrogen-Natural Gas Blending Demonstration Project will allow us to demonstrate hydrogen's value as part of our transition to a net-zero energy future by 2050.

Blending hydrogen into natural gas uses existing infrastructure with new low-carbon solutions and helps us reach our emission reduction goals while continuing to deliver for our customers today and tomorrow. Customers receiving this hydrogen-natural gas blend would continue to receive safe, reliable service using existing appliances and heating their homes like they do currently. Customers wouldn't need to take action to receive this service and would continue to pay normal natural gas rates.

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Project Update

Beginning in 2023 we set about developing a project to blend small percentages of hydrogen into the natural gas system which serves about 250 customers in Adams County, Colorado. The project is in the planning stage, and we've included it in our Clean Heat Plan which was recently submitted to state regulators. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission is reviewing our plan, and we are expecting their decision around the second quarter of 2024.

Location

The demonstration will be located near 160th Avenue and Hayesmount Road in Adams County, Colorado.

This location was selected after a siting process that evaluated criteria such as:

Residential-only natural gas system
Available land for blending equipment
How close the location is to existing natural gas infrastructure
Compatibility with allowable land use

Click to enlarge

Working with You

Prior to operating this demonstration, we'll coordinate closely with Adams County, emergency responders, elected officials and affected customers. Our team will follow permit requirements set by jurisdictions and agencies. Some stakeholders may experience the following while we install this demonstration:

Workers on site, truck traffic and delivery of materials
Noise
Work during permitted hours
Testing procedures

We don't anticipate interruptions to natural gas service. If service interruptions are needed, we'll communicate directly with you. We're committed to keeping you informed during this process. Please visit this page regularly or contact us.

Safety is Always in Mind

We have the same level of diligence around safety when using hydrogen as we do in all the ways we provide energy to you. We prioritize safety by reliably delivering energy to you and your community. Hydrogen may be a new fuel in our system, but it has been used safely and reliably across North America for more than 50 years.

We'll implement safety measures including leak prevention, monitoring and coordination with emergency responders to handle hydrogen-blended natural gas emergencies.

We care about your home-cooked meals with family and cozy nights in a warm home. And those won't change with hydrogen-blended natural gas.

View our Safety Resources

How Hydrogen Blending Works

We'll install equipment at the demonstration location, like hydrogen storage containers, that will store, blend and connect to the natural gas system. The site will be screened to reduce visual impact.

We expect to deliver about 20-50 truckloads of hydrogen to the location each year, depending on the time of year and how much natural gas is used by customers in the area. When implemented on a wider basis in the future, hydrogen would be delivered by underground lines.

Click or tap on the steps below to learn more!

Natural Gas Supply

We have an existing network of lines that serve customers throughout Colorado.

Hydrogen Supply

During this temporary demonstration, hydrogen will be trucked to the location and safely stored until needed.

Natural Gas System Connection

Hydrogen will be blended into the existing natural gas system serving the community.

Blended Natural Gas

Up to 10% of the total natural gas blend will be hydrogen.

Your Use

You can continue to enjoy safe, reliable service while using your existing appliances.

Since the 1970s, Hawaii Gas has been safely providing hydrogen-blended natural gas to customers.
Since 2021, Enbridge has been providing hydrogen-blended natural gas to 3,600 customers in Markham, a large city near Toronto.
In 2021, an Enbridge subsidiary (Gazifere) began blending hydrogen into its natural gas network for customers in Quebec.
Since October 2021, New Jersey Resources Corporation has been operating a hydrogen/natural gas blended system.
In June 2022, CenterPoint Energy began blending hydrogen with natural gas for customers in Minneapolis.
ATCO Gas is providing hydrogen-blended natural gas to 2,100 customers in Alberta, Canada.
SoCalGas is working with the University of California Irvine to provide hydrogen-blended natural gas to the campus by 2024.

Benefits of Hydrogen Blending

Delivering net-zero gas service by 2050 will require innovation and customer adoption. Your participation in this journey is critical to its success. Maintaining reliability and affordability is essential to achieving our vision.

Low-carbon natural gas is an important part of this transition. Hydrogen blending allows us to deliver low-carbon energy while meeting your needs. In fact, 85% of our customers rely on natural gas to heat their homes and cook their food. When implemented on a wider-scale in the future, hydrogen-natural gas blending will offer the following benefits to the communities we serve:

Less Carbon

Blending hydrogen into natural gas reduces the carbon emissions that would normally be released using just natural gas without hydrogen.
Keep Your Appliances

With hydrogen-blended natural gas, there's no need to get new appliances or change how you heat your home.
Convenient

Hydrogen-blended natural gas offers the convenience of natural gas while allowing you to be a partner in reducing environmental impacts.

Reducing Carbon

Our vision is to incorporate hydrogen into our energy delivery system, as part of our strategy to achieve net-zero emissions in natural gas delivery by 2050, while ensuring reliable and affordable energy service.

We’ve been here before. We were an early adopter of cost-effective wind and solar projects, which helped advance the technology and lower cost.

Now, we plan to explore lower-carbon natural gas alternatives, such as hydrogen-blended natural gas, and advance the technology through efforts like this project.

Learn More

Resources

FAQs

Xcel Energy is committed to a lower-carbon future. In fact, we're the first major U.S. energy provider to set goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions across all the ways our customers use energy. Our Net-Zero Vision for Natural Gas aims to reduce carbon emissions by 80 million tons from the supply, distribution and use of natural gas by 2050. We reach net zero emissions when the amount of greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere does not exceed the amount removed.

It reduces emissions: Hydrogen produces less carbon emissions than natural gas. Blending hydrogen into natural gas is one effort of many we're taking to help reach our goal of reducing carbon emissions.
It's safe: Across the globe, communities have used hydrogen-natural gas blending to create a lower-carbon future.
It's convenient: With hydrogen-blended natural gas, there's no need to get new appliances or change how you heat your home.

While using hydrogen is new for our communities, it's been safely and reliably used throughout North America for the last 50 years. Here are some examples:

Since the 1970s, Hawaii Gas has been safely providing hydrogen-blended natural gas to customers.
Since 2021, Enbridge has been providing hydrogen-blended natural gas to 3,600 customers in Markham, a large city near Toronto.
In 2021, an Enbridge subsidiary (Gazifere) began blending hydrogen into its natural gas network for customers in Quebec.
Since October 2021, New Jersey Resources Corporation has been operating a hydrogen/natural gas blended system.
In June 2022, CenterPoint Energy began blending hydrogen with natural gas for customers in Minneapolis.
ATCO Gas is providing hydrogen-blended natural gas to 2,100 customers in Alberta, Canada.
SoCalGas is working with the University of California Irvine to provide hydrogen-blended natural gas to the campus by 2024.

This will help us jumpstart hydrogen-blended natural gas technology to implement it on a wider scale in the future.

We want this demonstration to show the value of hydrogen-blended natural gas to our customers. Hydrogen is a valuable part of our transition to being a net-zero energy provider by 2050. We were an early adopter of wind and solar projects which helped to advance these technologies, and we’re helping to move the industry forward with lower-carbon natural gas alternatives.

Yes, hydrogen-blended natural gas has been safely used in North America for the last 50 years. Blending hydrogen with natural gas is like adding ethanol to gasoline. Hawaii Gas has been providing hydrogen-blended natural gas to customers since the 1970s. Energy providers like CenterPoint Energy and Enbridge also have recent hydrogen blending projects. Across the globe, communities have used hydrogen-blended natural gas to lower carbon emissions.

The polyethylene lines that will deliver the hydrogen-natural gas blend to customers follow strict safety standards and are rated to deliver natural gas and blended hydrogen-natural gas.

Xcel Energy is collaborating with industry thought leaders to advance hydrogen-natural gas blending technology. In addition to working with other energy providers, we're working with national laboratories like HyBlend and NYSEARCH as we demonstrate the role hydrogen can have in helping reach a net-zero energy future.

If you have questions, we want to hear from you. We're committed to keeping you informed during this process. We plan to provide regular updates on this website and directly to customers throughout this demonstration. You can also email us at Connect@XcelEnergyAdamsDemo.com or call us at 720-780-3164.

If you have any doubt about the authenticity of anyone claiming to be with Xcel Energy or communications you receive, contact Customer Care at 800-895-4999. Learn more about avoiding scams.