A collaborative centre of excellence for research, technology and education in gas sustainability launched at Imperial College London.

Researchers at the Sustainable Gas Institute, established by Imperial and BG Group, will translate research into practical solutions for the energy industry, the international research community, policy makers and investors.

Professor Nigel Brandon, Director of the Sustainable Gas Institute at Imperial, says: “Right now we are at a crossroads when it comes to fossil fuels including natural gas. On the one hand there are concerns about it contributing to global warming. On the other, natural gas can provide global energy security at a time when there is increased competition for resources.   We are delighted to be working with our colleagues at BG Group on this initiative to develop the next generation of sustainable gas technologies and infrastructure that will help us to use gas resources in a sustainable way well into the future.”

Chris Cox, Executive Vice President for BG Advance at BG Group, says: “Innovation is critical to deliver an increasingly cost efficient and less carbon intensive industry. This unique Institute is a crucial collaboration to ensure gas fulfils its long-term potential.”

The Institute will draw on world-class expertise to carry out research to address critical questions for gas sustainability in both the short and long-term: energy efficiency, gas innovation, and carbon capture, storage and use.

Specific programmes will include:

• The energy efficiency programme, which will seek to develop highly efficient energy service technologies to support low cost, low carbon exploration, production and transport of natural gas
• The gas innovation programme, which will build vital technical and strategic knowledge on the role of natural gas in future low carbon, secure, competitive and affordable energy systems. For example the Institute will look efficient ways to use gas, and at the synergies between gas and other energy vectors.
• The carbon capture storage and use programme, which will assess the technical and strategic issues surrounding carbon management for the oil and gas exploration and production business, including advancement of new carbon dioxide separation, handling, storage and re-use technologies.