Zukunft Gas and partners issue transformation path plan for new gases

An initiative of Germany’s natural gas industry Zukunft Gas, BDEW Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries and the DVGW German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water have presented the “New Gases Transformation Path,” a plan for how the gas industry will become a hydrogen economy.

Zukunft Gas said that Germany should be climate neutral in 2045, which, for companies in the industry, means leaving previous business models behind, transforming themselves, and, above all, making an indispensable contribution to the climate-neutral energy system of the future, in which the production, import, transport, distribution and sale of new gases are transformed in a sustainable and future-proof manner. The initiative noted that gases such as hydrogen and its derivatives as well as biogas will play a decisive role in the future.

However, in order for the transformation to climate neutrality to succeed by 2045, Zukunft Gas said that it must be accelerated, and this is where the transformation path takes the stage.

The initiative said the path describes the change in the gas industry, draws on recognised studies, formulates proposals for the regulatory framework and opens up space for the design of an integrative resilient energy system with green electrons and green molecules.

It stated: “In this way, we want to make a contribution to ensuring that the necessary directional decisions can be made in a timely manner. This requires careful handling of the multitude of technical, economic, social, energy and geopolitical uncertainties. With the concept of the resilience of the energy transition, we are aiming for a transformation that is heading towards climate neutrality in a reliable and crisis-proof manner.”

Zukunft Gas mentioned the following six theses as a suggestion for a debate:

• On the way to climate neutrality – a resilient system with green power generation and new gases is created.
• In a climate-neutral energy system, new gases are indispensable in parts of industry, transport and the supply of electricity and heat.
• New gases make the transformation and the energy system resilient.
• The future infrastructure for new gases will be created based on current needs.
• New gases will be available in sufficient quantities and at reasonable costs.
• The transformation to new gases needs the right political guidelines.

In addition, the initiative said it would like to get involved in the current political discussions, such as the national hydrogen strategy and the heat transition, but also the development and implementation of a carbon management strategy or the support of the corresponding European developments.

“We are convinced that the transformation of the energy system towards climate neutrality can only succeed in an integrative manner and in comprehensive cooperation with the entire energy industry and all relevant political, social and scientific actors,” Zukunft Gas stated.

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