Andreas Guth, Secrétaire général d’Eurogas

What are the main regulatory and political challenges facing the European gas industry in the current political context in Brussels, and how is Eurogas working to strengthen the role of gas in the energy transition? 

The European gas industry faces significant challenges as it strives to balance decarbonisation, affordability, and energy security amid a rapidly evolving energy landscape. Aligning regulatory frameworks with net-zero targets while ensuring affordable and secure energy supply is crucial. Gaseous fuels offer a cost-efficient and resilient solution, especially when real world developments deviate from aspirational assumptions about the stated decarbonisation pathways. By collaborating with policymakers and stakeholders, Eurogas is ensuring that the EU energy policy addresses these important pillars and to balance the energy trilemma. 

Eurogas advocates for a pragmatic, multi-technology approach to decarbonisation, emphasising the scale-up of renewable and low-carbon gases and CCUS technologies to play a crucial role in the energy transition. We also support cost minimisation and renewable integration through the leveraging of existing gas infrastructure. These preparations allow the gas sector to contribute to the energy transition alongside the other solutions on the road to our 2050 goals.

Your latest report, ‘Ensuring Resilience in the European Energy Transition: Strategic Use of Gases to Meet EU Climate Ambitions’, highlights the crucial role of gases. Can you outline the key findings and explain how Eurogas and its members plan to implement these recommendations?

The study was carried out by Frontier Economics and commissioned by Eurogas. It highlights the indispensable role of gaseous fuels like natural gas, biomethane, hydrogen and its derivatives in improving the resilience of Europe’s energy transition by balancing affordability, security, and sustainability.  

In the study, gaseous energies are found to enable a cost-efficient energy transition, and lower energy prices for both industry and consumers. In total, renewable gases could reduce EU consumer payments for energy by as much as 1.2 trillion EUR between 2030 and 2050, ensuring a considerably more affordable and competitive energy transition. In addition, they provide critical backup when there are demand fluctuations or delays in other critical elements of the decarbonisation pathways, allowing us to safeguard our transition from unexpected setbacks. Meanwhile, these alternatives enable an additional route for decarbonising the energy mix on top of the cost-effective use of existing infrastructure. 

To implement these findings, Eurogas advocates for policies that promote renewable and low-carbon gas deployment. Priorities include binding biomethane production targets, a robust hydrogen value chain, and streamlined permitting processes. Eurogas also supports CCUS technologies, which are vital for decarbonising natural gas and achieving negative emissions when paired with biomethane production. These initiatives underscore the role of gases as essential tools in Europe’s net-zero strategy. 

What is Eurogas’ vision for the gas industry up to 2050, and what are the main issues and projects you are considering to meet the EU’s climate objectives?

Gaseous fuels will remain integral to Europe’s energy mix in 2050, with renewable and low-carbon options like biomethane and hydrogen playing a dominant role. However, regulatory and financial signalling needs to be consistent, acknowledging the usefulness of these alternatives, and provide incentives for them to contribute to their full potential. 

Biomethane is poised to progressively replace natural gas in final energy demand, while hydrogen will be pivotal in a decarbonised energy system, ensuring flexibility and resilience against seasonal demand variations, potential delays compared to stated ambitions in terms of energy efficiency improvements for instance, and geopolitical risks. With growing shares of intermittent renewable energy and increased electrification of final demand, hydrogen-fuelled and dual-fuel power plants become increasingly vital in providing backup capacity for the power sector. Electrolysers can also act as balancing tools for seasonal and locational mismatches between supply and demand. Therefore, gaseous fuels will remain essential for ensuring Europe’s security of supply in an increasingly renewable based energy system.

Eurogas supports binding EU biomethane targets, accelerating the development of a hydrogen economy, including through low-carbon hydrogen, and integrating CCUS technologies into the energy system. Utilising and repurposing existing infrastructure will also minimise costs and support a smooth transition. By advocating for a balanced energy approach, Eurogas envisions a decarbonised gas industry contributing to Europe’s sustainable, secure, and affordable energy future.