Energy gases, standards and the energy transition

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International symposium ‘Renewable energy gases in the changing world of natural gas’ on 19th June in the Netherlands

In the context of the energy transition, it is highly unlikely that we will move away from natural gas all at once. A long transition period of blending “green” gases such as biomethane and green hydrogen is more likely. What does this mean for standards and measurement methods in this field? NEN and National Metrology Institute VSL are holding an international symposium about it on the 19th of June.

By Michiel G.J. Smit

In principle, the ISO/TC 193 Natural gas Technical Committee meets somewhere in the world every year. “But due to the Corona virus, we hadn’t met since our last physical meeting in 2019, in Bejing,” says Adriaan van der Veen, President of ISO/TC 193 and chief scientist at National Metrology Institute VSL. This year, there will finally be another physical meeting of the Technical Committee, and it will be in the Netherlands. “We will take the opportunity to organise a symposium prior to the ISO/TC 193 meetings,” says Nicolet Baas, secretary of the Technical Committee and standardisation consultant at NEN’s Electro & Energy cluster, and closely involved in organising the symposium. “The experts come here anyway because of the meetings. This is an excellent opportunity to share the work and insights with a broad international audience, because we think it is important to also share our insights with a broader group than the experts alone. Users of our products, for example: it is useful for them to be aware of the latest developments; they can adjust their business strategies accordingly. Who knows, they may also have questions that we can address with our work.”

Dynamics in the field

It is not only the Technical Committee meeting that gives rise to the symposium, but also the dynamics in the field itself. Adriaan van der Veen explains “I would dare to predict that we will be using natural gas in our energy supply for decades to come, even if the energy transition goes smoothly. We are at the beginning of a long period of blending energy gases and making them ever greener. This constitutes a large amount of work in terms of standards development and metrology in this area. Firstly, much of the system can be retained, saving us a great deal of work, which is particularly true for biomethane. Although its origin and production is different from natural gas, it has been upgraded to ‘natural gas quality’, so new standards are not needed for measuring its quality. At the same time, biomethane often contains impurities, some of which are also new when compared to natural gas, so that does call for additional standards and measurement methods.”
With regard to hydrogen, and the blending of natural gas with hydrogen, there is plenty more work for standards developers, argues Nicolet Baas. “It has substantially different properties to natural gas, particularly its higher volatility, which means additional or different safety requirements, for example.

Interaction of different gases

Consequently, the ‘new’ energy gases, such as pure hydrogen, sometimes require additional standards, which other standards committees are looking into. But don’t forget the interaction of the various gases, Nicolet stresses. “A lot of attention is currently being paid to odorising mixtures of natural gas and hydrogen, i.e. adding a scent that causes alarm in the event of a gas leak. We already do that to natural gas, but that odour is not automatically suitable for use with hydrogen. The search is on to find exactly the right scent for every possible composition and ratio we may encounter during the energy transition.”

Physical meetings more suitable than virtual

The aim of the symposium is to bring such issues to the attention of a wide, international audience. Adriaan welcomes the personal, physical nature of the meeting. “Unofficial chats in the lobby play a key role in many important issues, and to this day we cannot simulate them well in a virtual environment. In the lobby, you can raise something you don’t want to share with everyone right away. Moreover, it deepens existing contacts. It acts like a lubricant in a consultative circuit such as this.”
Nicolet also strongly prefers physical meetings to virtual ones. “We want to attract a broad group, which includes many people who do not yet know each other. Getting to know each other really requires a physical meeting, so that people can look each other in the eye. That can help enormously if you have to reach consensus on something at a later stage or come to a compromise with someone.”

China

China is also represented at the symposium. Adriaan says “That emphasises the international nature of the symposium and the fact that we can complete the energy transition faster and better if we work together. In China, for example, a lot of mine gas is available, but it is hardly taken seriously here in Europe – there aren’t even any standards for measuring its composition. While its similarity to biomethane, in terms of particulate concentration, is great.” Geopolitics is deliberately left out of this, by the way. “As engineers and scientists, we want to create optimal conditions for co-operation on the energy transition. And specifically for ISO/TC 193: let’s make optimal use of everything we have developed in terms of standards and measurement methods for natural gas in the energy transition” concludes Nicolet.

The symposium ‘Renewable energy gases in the changing world of natural gas’ will take place in Delft on 19th June. See https://symposium-renewable-energy-gases.nen-evenementen.nl/ for more information.