German Member Committee meeting debates Natural Gas, Renewables and Power-to-X

In March, the Global Gas Centre, a sister organisation of the World Energy Council, invited its members to a meeting on "The Role of Natural Gas and its Interaction with Renewables" in Berlin.

Among the speakers from science and industry was Dr. Carsten Rolle, Managing Director of the World Energy Council's German chapter, who presented the results of the study "International Aspects of a Power-to-X" Roadmap. In his presentation, Dr. Rolle stated: "We need renewable molecules to achieve the goals of energy system transformation. This requires new international partnerships".

 

Prof. Dr. Friedbert Pflüger welcomed the international experts as cooperation partners and moderated the discussion.

 

From the presentations and discussions it became clear how important the PtX topic is in the gas industry at home and abroad. In particular, the international dimension with regard to producer countries is becoming the focus, i.e. a global market for PtX products, the necessary infrastructure, new trading relationships and geopolitical implications.

Rapid technological development is predicted, in particular by electrolysers, which assumes a tenfold increase in capacity every five years. The sectors - electricity and gas - are moving closer together, so there are already some cooperations between companies in both sectors, such as Tennet and Gasunie.

However, there are still many open questions, especially with regard to political framework conditions and instruments, which would have to accompany technical and economic development at a national level and above all at the European or even global (G20) level.

To learn more about Power-to-X, download and read the study „International Aspects of a PtX Roadmap“.