BrazilConsultancies lined-up at European Gas Conference in Vienna
The European Gas Conference, to be held in Vienna from 27 – 29 March, will address the long-term role of natural gas and clean hydrogen in Europe.
This year’s edition of the annual European Gas Conference, which brings together over 250 attendees from 35 countries, seeks to find ways to continuing powering Europe without resources from Russia. On the agenda are: challenges in meeting Europe’s LNG demand, high shipping prices, and pathways to clean hydrogen energy.
The event is sponsored by a number of energy companies, law firms, and two consulting firms: energy specialist GLJ and global strategy giant Boston Consulting Group.
Among the 85 expert speakers are representatives from companies like Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor, German energy company RWE, Swiss energy company Axpo, Italian energy infrastructure company Snam, and multinational investment firm BlackRock, among others.
Global strategy consultancy McKinsey & Company also has a speaker lined-up: partner and oil & gas industry expert Johann Raunig. “Important to be together with my colleagues form The Energy Council European Gas Advisory Board in light of the current energy crisis,” said Raunig in a LinkedIn post.
The 3-day agenda features a complimentary event called the European Hydrogen Conference, to be held on the last day. High on the agenda of the conference is the potential for clean hydrogen energy, a development that has the potential to transform the energy industry and has the potential to drastically reduce harmful emissions.
The event on hydrogen energy will explore the technological challenges required for renewable hydrogen production and will work towards investment in projects that are working to solve those challenges.
Much of the technology required for widespread clean hydrogen is still a way off in development. Most hydrogen is still produced from fossil fuels, but the potential for green hydrogen is on the horizon with seemingly simple methods that actually require much more research.
One such method is electrolysis, where an electric current splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. Another new method for obtaining clean hydrogen uses scrap aluminum as a source.
Clean hydrogen could be a game changer in many different industries if the technology advances to the point that it becomes widely available. For example, a recent study from dss+ showed that clean hydrogen could cut emissions in the mining sector by up to 80%.
Climate activists in the Austrian capital have planned protests to coincide with the European Gas Conference. Activists are calling for an end to natural gas and all other fossil fuels altogether, offering sharp criticism of the fossil fuel companies that will participate.
