It’s an exciting time for gas as we look to transition this high-performance energy towards being renewable, low carbon and eventually net zero carbon.
A green future
New Zealand homes and businesses use two types of gas – natural gas which flows through piped networks, and LPG, delivered in bottles. Gas is valued by hospitality outlets for its high heat for use in cooking, and by businesses ranging from laundromats to those in manufacturing and agriculture. And that’s not counting the hundreds of thousands of households that use gas for their backyard barbecues, cooking, heating and hot water.
Together the industry is exploring a range of scenarios for the future of gas, from hydrogen to biogas and blends of different gases.
But it’s not about betting on just one type of green gas. It’s about being prepared to try lots of different types of gases, so that we find the best solutions for energy users, communities and stakeholders as we move towards our renewable energy future.
As the renewable energy challenge becomes more urgent, technological advances mean it is also becoming more feasible to solve. We are confident that we can transform waste from a problem to an energy solution used to power the gas appliances in your home and business, enabling a cleaner, more circular economy to emerge.
A green future for gas means thoroughly assessing the renewable gas opportunities, and the role they can play in the future of gas. Hydrogen, biogas, renewable natural gas and renewable LPG can be made from renewable resources without releasing more CO2 into the environment than they have taken out. Just the kind of energy we need.
Renewables
Renewable Hydrogen
Renewable hydrogen gas is produced, - using renewable electricity, - by separating hydrogen from water. Renewable hydrogen gas is also referred to as green hydrogen. In the future, it is possible that hydrogen gas will be used in pretty much the same ways that current gas is used in homes today. Such as for gas cooking, hot water and comfortable heating.
As well as that, hydrogen can also be converted back to electricity using a fuel cell, with the hydrogen storing energy like a battery that can be used to power electric vehicles, including some of our heavy transport vehicles like commercial trucks and boats.
Biogas
Biogas has actually been around for a while and is already used in many industries. It’s naturally produced from the decomposition of organic waste during anaerobic digestion. When biogas is processed to regulatory pipeline standards, it is considered renewable natural gas.
Biogas is capturing the green gas that comes from decomposing food or plant waste. There are two ways this can fit into the bigger solution: we can either make it on a large scale in collaboration with the likes of farms, rubbish dumps, wastewater treatment plants and councils, and then process it further as renewable natural gas and add that to the pipes to use in our homes; or some production and manufacturing organisations can make their own biogas on site, to use directly at their plant.
Renewable Natural Gas (RNG)
Renewable natural gas is methane produced from renewable sources like digested organic waste and gasified biomass. It has the same chemical make up as natural gas. It is a cleaner version of biogas – produced by further processing or “scrubbing” of biogas.
Renewable LPG (rLPG)
rLPG is created from renewable and waste materials. The feedstocks undergo a series of sophisticated treatments to purify their energy content. It is chemically identical to conventional LPG and is transported and stored in the same tanks and used for the same applications and equipment – making the transition from LPG to rLPG seamless.
Renewable DME (rDME)
Renewable DME (also called rDME) is dimethyl ether, a clean, colourless gas that is produced from renewable or recycled carbon feedstocks, such as manure. rDME is easy to liquefy and transport and can be used as a replacement for, or blended with, LPG.
Renewable gas
and your appliances
Renewable LPG, produced from biomass (e.g. forest, crop or farm waste) is chemically identical to LPG and a direct energy replacement for your BBQ or LPG appliances. Modern gas appliances are efficient, and will work with renewable biogas or renewable LPG.
Future appliances are likely to be able to take 100% renewable and net zero emissions gases. Rinnai has already developed a hydrogen gas compatible continuous flow water heating system.
Just like today’s gas, these new gases and appliances will be subject to rigorous safety protocols and standards before they are available to homes and businesses.
What’s the timing?
Natural gas and LPG are cleaner burning fuels with far lower CO2 emissions than coal but along with the rest of New Zealand’s energy sector – we need to do even better.
The blending of traditional gas with renewable natural gas is due to start in New Zealand in 2024. Initially in modest quantities in a discrete area, the expectation is that it will scale up incrementally over the following years.
Denmark has already achieved 32 percent renewable natural gas, and is targeting 100 percent by 2030.
It is likely that renewable LPG will be available in the next decade.
Just like today’s gas, these new gases will be subject to rigorous safety protocols and standards before they are available to homes and businesses.
Renewable gas will be part of helping us achieve our renewable energy aspirations and a net zero carbon future by 2050.
What’s the plan?
Within the next 10 years we expect to be cooking on gas at least partially made from organic waste, and using renewable gas for a whole lot more. Some companies have even more ambitious timeframes, with Firstgas readying to introduce initial portions of renewable natural gas into the gas grid by 2025.
While the pace of introduction will ultimately depend on regulatory requirements and individual investments across the energy sector and from new eco start-ups, Future Sure partners are united in their view that a diversity of gas supply which includes renewable gases will be key to being ‘future sure’!
New Zealand has great potential to grow a renewable gas industry as we have feedstocks such as wood waste and municipal or landfill waste as sources of renewable gas.
Some appliance companies have already started testing existing appliances with renewable gases such as biogas and hydrogen. A good example is Rinnai who has developed a 100 percent hydrogen gas continuous hot water system.
Investment and research is well underway. Fossil LPG could be replaced by a renewable version that has a similar chemical composition, but is made from sources such as agricultural or wood waste. The two can be blended and stored in the same bottles until there is enough quantity of renewable LPG to replace the fossil version entirely.
Production of sustainable aviation fuel and bio diesel can also produce renewable LPG as a by-product.
Europe and the United States are leading the way in the development of renewable LPG, and renewable DME, and GasNZ is keeping abreast of progress.
The overall aim is to encourage investment in a New Zealand supply chain and keep working through the changes required.
What does the future hold for gas?
Future Sure companies are committed to continuing to explore a range of scenarios for the future of gas, from hydrogen to biogas and renewable gas blends.
It’s an exciting time for gas as we look to transition this high-performance energy towards being renewable, low carbon and eventually to a net zero carbon energy system.