Renaming: Future Gas Wants to Help Shape the Climate Transition

With the renaming of "Zukunft Erdgas" to "Zukunft Gas," the gas industry's lobby organization aims to reflect the increasing focus on "green gases." In addition to biomethane, this includes power-to-gas from green electricity or renewable hydrogen. The German gas industry has long been more than just the product natural gas. Efficient heating technologies, the fuel cell in the heating basement, biogas, its use and storage in the gas network, or innovations for the climate-neutral production of hydrogen are seen as topics that should clearly demonstrate that gas will continue to play a role, according to the association.

"With the new name, the gas industry underscores its active transformation towards climate neutrality. Gas with its widely developed infrastructure is, alongside electricity, the second pillar of future energy supply," explains Timm Kehler, chairman of the industry initiative.

At an online conference for the launch of the new name, Kehler emphasized the desire to find paths to "green gas" and thus also to replace coal and oil in the areas of heating, power plants, and mobility. Last year, the share of natural gas in primary energy consumption was nearly 27 percent. As the phase-out of coal and nuclear power progresses, this share is expected to grow in the coming years, according to the forecast.

According to an estimate from the Leipzig-based gas trading company VNG AG, by 2050, 99 percent of gases are expected to be "green." To achieve this, the company is already actively participating in various projects aimed at decarbonization through biomethane and green hydrogen as well as the decentralization of the energy system, as underscored by CEO Ulf Heitmüller. He sees great potential in these technologies for climate protection as well as for the structural change in former coal or oil industry regions.

Gas as a storage medium for green energy

For the future, Zukunft-Gas representative Kehler envisions a fixed place for gaseous energy carriers in the German energy mix: "Many member companies have been advancing the development of power-to-gas plants for more than ten years. They are investing in the natural gas network and building it into a storage and transport medium for renewable energies. And they are producing hydrogen-compatible gas boilers and innovative fuel cell heaters."

Green gases could increasingly become competitive through a CO2 price, according to him, but this must be supported by bridging funding. Additionally, companies that invest in areas such as hydrogen must be supported. There are still many obstacles here.

Accounting for CNG models in emission limits

In the mobility sector, Kehler predicted a "victory march" of bio-CNG at gas stations, accompanied by the increasing spread of LNG (deep-cooled, liquefied CNG) in trucks and heavy commercial vehicles. He hopes, among other things, for a boost through the reorganization of the fleet emission directive at the EU level, as this would give vehicle manufacturers an incentive to push CNG models. They could then be counted towards the emission limits similarly to how electric vehicles are accounted for today.