Natural Gas Drives Energy Solutions
Source: IGU
This power-to-gas plant, built by Eon in northern Germany, converts excess wind power to hydrogen and then injects it into the network system.
The natural gas industry continues to innovate, both to meet growing demand and to change the way we live, work and travel. The natural gas industry’s drive for innovation has made it as high-tech as Silicon Valley, fueling global mobility and quality of life.
Some of the most important technological innovations in the past decade have been in the service of the natural gas industry. Sophisticated methods for safely extracting gas from hard-to-reach places have helped change the dynamics of the global energy mix. Natural gas can also be credited with being the driver behind smart energy systems, including integrated energy systems; small scale storage; load response and balancing and renewable gas.
The global chemicals industry has benefited massively from the new abundance of natural gas. The abundant and relatively cheap feedstock has enabled further downstream innovations across a number of applications, be they in medical technology, refrigeration, plastics or transport. For example, the increased use and supply of natural gas also increases the commercial distribution of ethane and ethane-based raw materials and could thus trigger new innovations and investment in new technologies. Research and development initiatives leveraging ethylene-based chemistries that replace petroleum-based products may predominate.
The transportation sector has profoundly benefitted from efforts to reduce emissions and innovation that uses natural gas as a motor fuel. Major municipal users are transferring to NGV fleets and long-haul transport has long been an enthusiastic user.