How can we integrate green gases into the energy networks?

The UK has significant potential to produce and use low-carbon gases such as biomethane and Bio-SNG (synthetic natural gas), with projections estimating up to 108 TWh of renewable gas production per year by 2050, depending on feedstock availability and policy support. These gases provide a crucial opportunity to reduce emissions while enhancing energy security, particularly in hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as heat, industry, and transport.

However, the scale up of green gas production and use is constrained by the capacity and flexibility of the existing gas network. Infrastructure originally designed for natural gas must now adapt to accommodate increasing volumes of distributed, lower-pressure gas injections. Innovative solutions are required to optimise grid utilisation, enable dynamic injection management, and ensure stable and efficient gas network operation. Advanced forecasting, real-time system monitoring, and digital automation, alongside innovations in compression, storage, and pressure management, could enable more flexible and dynamic injection of green gases, helping networks accommodate a diverse gas supply while maintaining reliability and cost effectiveness. Addressing these challenges will be essential for unlocking the full potential of biomethane and Bio-SNG, supporting the UK’s net-zero ambitions, and maximising its abundant domestic green gas resources.

Through focusing on this challenge, SIF aims to:

• Develop cost-effective solutions for injecting biomethane and Bio-SNG into existing gas networks while maintaining system stability and reliability.

• Increase ability to accommodate fluctuating green gas production though improved network planning, forecasting, and flexibility.

• Streamline injection planning through enhanced coordination between gas network operators, renewable gas producers, and energy suppliers.

• Enable more effective gas injection and distribution by advancing innovations in gas storage, injection management, and pressure management technologies.

This workshop will bring together innovators, industry experts, network professionals, and other relevant stakeholders in a collaborative environment to share insights and ideate approaches to address the challenges and barriers to unlocking the full potential of biomethane and Bio-SNG, supporting the UK’s net-zero ambitions, and maximising its abundant domestic green gas resources.

Please join us to contribute to the conversation, meet other inspiring innovators, and explore collaboration opportunities. The workshop aims to broker relationships and generate ideas that could be further developed into SIF proposals.

About the Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund

The Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund was established in 2021, as a programme with funding of £450m+ over five years, to drive innovation and transformation in energy networks. By the end of 2024, the programme has committed over £270m in total funding across 234 projects in different stages of development (Discovery, Alpha, Beta).

Ofgem and Innovate UK recently launched Round 5 of the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to address strategic energy sector needs. For more information, please visit the SIF website here: Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) | Ofgem.

Who is this workshop for?

• Energy/ gas networks, planners and developers

• Industry consultancies

• Technology providers and innovators

• Research institutions

• Infrastructure specialists

• Green gas, e.g. biomethane, customers

• Flexibility solutions experts

• Regulatory or policy experts

Please note that the capacity for the workshop is limited, and attendance will be confirmed after registration. A document with a detailed agenda and further background on the challenge will be sent to participants ahead of the event.

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Keywords

Ofgem, Strategic Innovation Fund, Energy, Energy Networks, Gas Networks, Innovation, Energy transition, Workshop, Collaboration

Privacy

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Disclaimers

Please use your work email address to register so we can contact you about Carbon Trust-managed events in a GDPR compliant way.

This event is hosted by the Carbon Trust on behalf of Innovate UK in support of Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) Round 5 Ideation Activity. By submitting this event registration form, you are agreeing for your personal data to be shared with the Carbon Trust and Innovate UK for the purpose of registering you for this event and contacting you regarding ideation workshops and other support activities.

Your personal data will be held in accordance with the data protection policies of Innovate UK and the Carbon Trust. Innovate UK will be the data controller for personal data submitted through this form and Carbon Trust will be its data processor.

For more details, Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy and UK Research and Innovation's Privacy Policy are accessible below:

https://www.ukri.org/publications/innovate-uk-privacy-notice-and-information-management-policy/

https://www.ukri.org/who-we-are/privacy-notice/

Carbon Trust’s Privacy Notice is accessible here: https://www.carbontrust.com/privacy

This workshop will be run on Microsoft Teams. Participant details such as names may be visible to all attendees. By registering for this event, you are happy for your details to be visible.

If you have any questions, concerns or require further clarification, please contact us via SIF_Ofgem@iuk.ukri.org.