Burgers of the future

Photo courtesy The Gas Hub

Who doesn’t love a good barbie? The smell of those sizzling sausages brings back happy childhood memories for many Kiwis. And going upmarket, restauranters also love the instant heat that gas can provide.

Looking towards increasing use of renewable gas as part of a decarbonized energy future, The Gas Hub gave food insiders a snapshot of what the future of gas BBQs might look like fueled by renewable hydrogen as part of Wellington on a Plate’s burger festival this month.

Brett Wolfsbauer, gas operations manager at The Gas Hub, said there weren’t yet many hydrogen barbecues in New Zealand, but the demonstration was designed to show that there are renewable options such as hydrogen that could be part of the renewable, low-carbon future for New Zealand energy.

“Although gas is changing, the way you cook on gas, and the way you use gas in the future doesn’t have to,” he said.

“There is currently $500 billion of investment in hydrogen worldwide, which just shows the commitment of the world to keep gas as one of our energy options”.

Wellington chef Shepherd Elliott flipped the burgers on the night. He said that the hydrogen burned very hot, so they had to manage that by having it turned right down.

“But the control was the same and the cooking was the same.”

Referring also to the possibility of biogas from food waste being used to produce gas in the future, Elliott said there were plenty of renewable gas options out there “and it looks like renewable hydrogen is going to be a part of that”.