Cooper, Southern Star launch joint hydrogen initiative

Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline and Cooper Machinery Services launched a joint hydrogen research project designed to convert Southern Star’s fleet of gas-fired reciprocating integral engines to a combination of gas and hydrogen-fired units.

This venture will be a leading hydrogen initiative that will provide a framework for further hydrogen expansion within the gas compression industry, Cooper said.

Starting in Q1, 2022, Cooper and Southern Star will modify a Cooper-Bessemer GMVH-12 at Southern Star’s Hugoton, Kansas compressor station to run on a blend of hydrogen and natural gas.

The engine will be equipped with Cooper’s HyperBalance IV system to monitor pressures, collect data, and ensure equipment safety during the test. Southern Star and Cooper plan to run the engine on a mixture of up to 10% hydrogen. Southern Star and Cooper will both provide engineering support and plan to publicize data to the industry once it becomes available.

“We are excited to partner with Cooper Machinery for this innovative hydrogen blending pilot program. Their technical expertise and support will help us maximize the potential use of hydrogen blends on our system,” said Jimmy Staton, Southern Star President & CEO.

“Cooper has been working on green environmental technology for some time and recently launched an official hydrogen initiative,” said Cooper CEO John Sargent. “Cooper began offering ‘clean’ technology on our engine-compressors in the 1970’s, and we have converted thousands of engines to some degree of green technology over the years including many to the 0.5 Grams of NOx level. Our Cooper engines can run on up to 10% hydrogen with minimal modifications.”

Southern Star is a leading transporter of natural gas to America’s heartland, with approximately 5,800 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline in the Midwest and Mid-Continent regions of the United States. It has pipelines, facilities and employees in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska and Texas. Southern Star’s headquarters is in Owensboro, KY.

Cooper Machinery Services is a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management and is an original equipment manufacturer (O.E.M.) and supplier of parts and after-sale services and emissions-reduction technologies to a large installed base of highly respected engine-compressor brands. Cooper’s O.E.M. brands include AJAX, Cooper-Bessemer, CSI, Enterprise, Gemini, Superior, TSI, and TXC.

Cooper also offers after-sale support for non-Cooper engine-compressor brands such as Clark, CAT (3600 engines), IR, Waukesha (VHP engines), and Worthington. Manufacturing is conducted in its facilities in Houston, Texas, Deer Park, Texas, Salina, Kansas and McPherson, Kansas. Its on-site services are delivered through its extensive network of field technicians operating out of fully equipped repair and overhaul shops strategically located around the world.