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Molecules – The Eurogas Newsletter (May 2021)

Editorial – Eurogas Secretary General James Watson

Dear members and readers,

Welcome to the May issue of Molecules. This month we welcome articles by our new members Repsol and Locusview, another instalment of our Gas Tech Talks series, and a summary of this month’s Eurogas Let’s Meet! webinar discussing the Renewable Energy Directive.

The first article, from Repsol LNG Holdings, discusses the company’s steps towards climate neutrality by 2050. This covers various focus areas including efforts to reduce emissions in shipping using LNG.

We then hear from Locusview. Their innovative technology supports gas companies with data management at all stages of infrastructure construction. It demonstrates again how digital companies are increasingly needed to transform energy systems and meet climate targets.

After that we have our latest Gas Tech Talk, where Mr Nicolas Erb from the Alstom Group covers how hydrogen can make rail travel – already a very sustainable mode of transport – fully decarbonised.

Finally we close with a summary of our most recent event, another Eurogas Let’s Meet! webinar. This panel debate ‘The EU’s Renewable Ambitions: What Role for Gas?’ welcomed speakers from the European Commission, Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) and European technology start-up DC Brain.

We hope you like the content. For our members reading, don’t forget that our General Assembly will take place on 11 June 2021. We hope to see you there!

Stay well,

James


How Repsol Serves a Global Customer Base

Repsol is a global multi-energy company present throughout the energy value chain. The company employs 24,000 people worldwide and distributes its products in nearly 100 countries to around 24 million customers. Repsol supports the transition and net-zero emissions by 2050 in various ways as outlined here.

Repsol’s customer-focused product and services portfolio is capable of meeting all consumer needs, whether at home or on the move. For example, the company is committed to the development of sustainable mobility solutions with increasingly efficient fuels, such as natural gas for vehicles.

Repsol is also a major player in the power and gas market in Spain, with 1.2 million customers and a total low-emissions generation capacity of 3,300 megawatt. Related to that, Repsol LNG Holding efficiently oversees the supply of the gas demand of Repsol group by trading in the Spanish gas system and in the international LNG market. In 2020, Repsol LNG Holding traded around 303 TBtu (trillion British thermal units) of natural gas and LNG. In addition to that, more than 19,000 different trades were closed in MIBGAS, the Iberian gas exchange.

In the framework of the Connecting Europe Facility, Repsol is cooperating with players such as Enagás and ESK, to lead the project LNGHIVE2, which is supported by the European Commission. The goal is to design, build and operate new LNG facilities in Santander and Bilbao which will supply ships and cover the LNG bunker demand, in order to significantly reduce emissions and pollution from the maritime sector.

To achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, Repsol is also deploying an integrated model of decarbonisation technologies based on enhanced efficiency, increased low-emissions power generation capacity, production of low-carbon fuels, development of new customer solutions, the circular economy, and driving breakthrough projects to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint.


Locusview Outline Digital Construction Management for Gas Companies

Many energy companies focused on reducing carbon emissions are repurposing their networks for hydrogen and biomethane. While blending is happening successfully for many players, others are at the first stages of this important work and we see growing demand for technological solutions to make this happen.

To incorporate hydrogen and biomethane, energy companies must determine the ideal concentration or blends that can work best within their gas network. To make that determination, asset owners depend on a Digital Twin, which relies upon highly accurate data collected in the field.

Increasing Investments in Clean Energy

At a global level, we see government leaders allocate millions in funding for clean energy initiatives geared towards achieving net-zero emissions. With this, the push for technologies that innovate and accelerate the transition increases. Energy leaders are turning to technology companies to help reduce costs, save time in the field, increase energy efficiencies, and digitally transform their operations.

That said, more predictability is needed – it is crucial that we have robust financial and policy frameworks. One positive step has been the recent joint call from Eurogas and other associations for binding EU 2030 targets to reduce the GHG intensity of gas consumed and increase the uptake of renewable gas. In today’s complex legislative agenda for EU energy, such targets send the right signal to investors in terms of quickly decarbonising energy networks.

Digital Construction Management for Gas Companies

While a plethora of technology companies offer various solutions for construction projects, few offer a truly end-to-end solution encompassing all aspects of infrastructure construction workflows.

Some utilities still use paper-based methods for field data collection. These manual processes are susceptible to human error, leading to missing or inaccurate data, project delays, and slow closeouts. Those utilities who have adopted digital solutions often use technologies which are extensions of larger enterprise systems. However, they sometimes include only the data which is relevant for their particular system, meaning multiple systems for various aspects of the same project are required.

Locusview provides a Digital Construction Management (DCM) platform for energy, telecom, and water industries that helps manage infrastructure capital projects from planning to revenue. It acts as a single digital thread unifying construction data. The solution focuses on the field crews, inspectors, and back office management, enabling a streamlined data flow and simultaneous mobile and web access to manage the three crucial phases of infrastructure construction projects: Planning, Construction, and Close-Out.

As the world continues to focus on clean energy and sustainability, the opportunity to establish new collaborations is ideal. Joining the Eurogas community is an important step towards advancing shared goals of increasing energy efficiency with sophisticated technologies.

Joe Benun,
International Business Development Manager, Locusview


Gas Tech Talk: Alstom on Hydrogen Trains

Rail is already a very sustainable mode of transport, but hydrogen can make it a fully decarbonised one. To make the most of hydrogen in rail, we need to build a hydrogen economy. This will require:

  • 2030 ambition for hydrogen in transport – currently absent and significant as electrification targets don’t specify the power source;
  • A framework to scale up renewable and low-carbon gases and enable their contribution to emissions reductions targets, which builds on success of the existing gas market to deliver liquidity, competitiveness and tradeability;
  • Clear rules for hydrogen (from the offset) for investor certainty; and
  • A level playing field to support the most cost-effective solutions through cross-sectoral synergies.

Alstom’s hydrogen train pilots in Germany and Italy resulted in orders for fleets, excellent passenger feedback and international interest. FCH JU has estimated that hydrogen trains could take around 30% of the diesel train market within 10-15 years. This will only happen if we have the right framework to build a hydrogen economy. With global players showing interest in Alstom’s technology, its a leadership position worth holding on to.

Hydrogen Trains are just one kind of Gas Tech driving decarbonisation while offering jobs and growth potential through European leadership in manufacture and export. To find out about the others in the series so far – gas quality tracking systems, gas turbines, gas boilers, electrolysers, anaerobic digestors for biomethane and gas engines for ships – visit https://eurogas.org/


Eurogas Let’s Meet! Webinar on EU Renewable Ambitions

The event ‘The EU’s Renewable Ambitions: What Role for Gas?‘ looked at the role renewable and low carbon gas can play within the Renewable Energy Directive – one of the most important legislative initiatives of 2021.

This file is under review to ensure it is in line with Europe’s climate ambition. “We are trying to create a system – an Integrated Energy System – fit for climate neutrality,” said Mr Antonio Lopez-Nicolas, the first speaker on the Eurogas panel. Lopez-Nicolas is Deputy Head of Renewables and Energy System Integration Policy at DG Energy.

“To do this we are working around three main principles,” he continued. “The first is energy efficiency and circularity. The second is electrification. The third is renewable fuels – for example hydrogen – for the hard to decarbonise sectors. So, the directive is looking at these elements and trying to enshrine them in the legal framework.”

The goal is to assess the overall quantity of renewables in our system and how we can practically increase these targets. In Europe today, 25% of the total primary energy consumption comes from gas. There is growing demand for renewable and low carbon gases, primarily to provide molecular energy for sectors that cannot be electrified.The event ‘The EU’s Renewable Ambitions: What Role for Gas?‘ looked at the role renewable and low carbon gas can play within the Renewable Energy Directive – one of the most important legislative initiatives of 2021.

This file is under review to ensure it is in line with Europe’s climate ambition. “We are trying to create a system – an Integrated Energy System – fit for climate neutrality,” said Mr Antonio Lopez-Nicolas, the first speaker on the Eurogas panel. Lopez-Nicolas is Deputy Head of Renewables and Energy System Integration Policy at DG Energy.

“To do this we are working around three main principles,” he continued. “The first is energy efficiency and circularity. The second is electrification. The third is renewable fuels – for example hydrogen – for the hard to decarbonise sectors. So, the directive is looking at these elements and trying to enshrine them in the legal framework.”

The goal is to assess the overall quantity of renewables in our system and how we can practically increase these targets. In Europe today, 25% of the total primary energy consumption comes from gas. There is growing demand for renewable and low carbon gases, primarily to provide molecular energy for sectors that cannot be electrified.

Roxana Caliminte from Gas Infrastructure Europe, our second speaker, explained, “Gas is the energy that heats houses, hospitals, schools, shops and office buildings; fuels our cars, buses, aeroplanes and ships; and the energy that fuels our industrial processes.”

Today the majority of this is natural gas. But one of the key asks from the gas industry throughout this revision is that the right market conditions are put in place to encourage EU-wide scale up of renewable and decarbonised gas.

“We’re all interested in what is in store for us,” said Małgosia Rybak, from the Confederation of European Paper Industry. “The paper and pulp industry is one of the largest industrial energy users for both gas and electricity.”

Interestingly however, the same industry is also the largest producer and user of industrial renewable energy. In fact, up to 60% of the European paper industry’s needs are met by biomass from their side streams such as forestry.

“Our industry is actually one of the leaders in using renewables for industrial heating. With the right policy framework we believe we can stay competitive at the global level – and at the same time contribute to achieving the 2030 and 2050 targets,” said Rybak.

The final speaker, Geert Meulenbelt from European technology start-up DC Brain, explained how digital solutions and artificial intelligence can support a cost-efficient and smoother energy transition, as well as the deployment of low-carbon gases.

New gases such as biomethane and hydrogen are increasingly discussed as alternatives to natural gas. However different gases have different inflows – and different impacts on the infrastructure they use. “Gas infrastructure is ever more closely aligned to the electricity sector,” said Meulenbelt.

“So we design digital network tools which model molecules and pressure throughout the network and infrastructure assets. This can support invoicing – because we know what percentage of the gas is consumed at any particular point – and it lets us assess the impacts of gas on the infrastructure. This is particularly helpful when we are looking at lots of little connection points for locally-sourced gas, rather than a centralised distribution.”

To watch the full webinar and hear more from each of our speakers, click here.


Coming up : Events

Online workshop for Eurogas members ‘Market Driven Net-Zero with CCS-as-a-service: An emission reduction market mechanism that delivers’ | 1 June 2021

For more information on this event, please contact events@eurogas.org

7th International LNG Congress | 7-8 June 2021

The 7th International LNG Congress 2021 will take place online on June, 7-8. It will gather Gas Majors, EPCs, Local Gas Companies, LNG shipping, LNG road transportation, Truck and Fleet owners, Terminals and Ports to share their opinion on the current LNG market situation. Request more information here.

Eurogas is pleased to be a partner at the 7th International LNG Congress 2021

The Green Hydrogen Forum | 8-9 June 2021

The Green Hydrogen Forum will be a 2-day interactive and case study driven Forum bringing together key stakeholders, from Government representatives, Regulatory and policy makers, Electric Utility companies, Renewable Energy Companies, Gas and Electricity Transmission System Operators, Green Hydrogen Project Developers and EPCs and Technology solution providers.

The key focus of the Forum will be on networking and discussing key challenges, opportunities,  and benchmarking best practices with regards to Green Hydrogen production, distribution, storage , transportation and upcoming market regulations, policies and latest technological development.
Find more information on this event here.

Eurogas is pleased to be partnering at the Green Hydrogen Forum.

Citizens Energy Congress | 15-16 June 2021

The Citizens Energy Congress, taking place virtually on 15-16 June 2021, will bring together a broad spectrum of energy industry professionals, policy makers, investors and civil society. Together, these groups will challenge the concepts and constraints of the existing energy models and foster consensus-driven foundations for a low carbon energy system.

The 2-day agenda will address the difficult questions facing the energy industry as it strives to balance energy access and climate change commitments. The broad audience will facilitate a balanced debate between all stakeholders from producers, end users, technology and service providers to investors, policy makers and civil society.  Request more information here.

Eurogas is pleased to be partnering at the Citizens Energy Congress.

Green Hydrogen Conference | 20 July 2021

ees Europe is the continent’s largest and most international exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems. Under the motto “Innovating energy storage”, the yearly event brings together manufacturers, distributors, project developers, system integrators, professional users and suppliers of innovative battery technologies and sustainable solutions for storing renewable energies such as hydrogen and Power-to-Gas applications.

Join the digital event Green Hydrogen Conference on July 20, 2021. Find out more here.

Eurogas is pleased to be a partner at ees Europe Green Hydrogen Conference.

St. Petersburg International Gas Forum | 5-8 October 2021

The largest event of the gas sector in Russia celebrates its anniversary! SPIGF dates back to 2011. In just 10 years the Forum has become the most reputable discussion venue that keeps developing. Every year, the Forum captures attention of relevant Government officials, as well as members of the business, academic and expert communities. Following the results of the event, there are elaborated specific and comprehensive recommendations for the sustainability and progress of the oil and gas industry in both the short- and long-term perspective.

The 2021 agenda of the Forum will feature 20 business tracks. This time the Forum will cover not only the traditional issues, but also some new essential aspects, including sustainable development of the sector, unconventional gas, the legal aspects of the oil and gas business, logistics and transport and use of helium.

InGAS Stream – Innovations in the Gas Industry, Import Substitution in the Gas Industry, Gas Engine Fuel and ROS-GAS-EXPO, these international exhibitions will join forces to showcase cutting-edge natural gas technologies in the EXPOFORUM pavilions. Exhibitors include Gazprom, UNIPER SE, OMV AG, Comita Group, HMS Group, TMK, Siemens Energy, Almaz-Antey Air and Space Defence Corporation, Gazprom Avtomatizatsiya, Severstal and many others. More information on this event is available here.

Eurogas is pleased to be a partner at the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum.