By Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme
…calls for long-term investments in technologies to support local production of green gases.
Paris, France – As the global energy transition agenda progresses, France gaz has predicted that natural gas will continue to play a key role in France’s energy sector, contributing at least 20% to the French energy mix by 2030, with local production of green gases and innovative technologies to drive the country’s low carbon future.
The France gaz Managing Director, Madeleine Lafon, made this known in a one-on-one interview with The Energy Republic in Paris, stating that the natural gas sector has been resilient, playing a key role in France’s energy security even during Europe’s energy crisis in 2022 triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war.
Notably, natural gas has been playing a key role in securing France and Europe’s energy supply. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Europe was highly dependent on Russian gas supplies. Reports show that European countries imported over 155 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Russian gas, which accounted for about 45 percent of total gas imports into the European market.
“The Russia – Ukraine war made France and other European countries terminate Russian gas supply. The war led to a historic gas price increase, but, there were no blackouts as the European Union was able to implement several measures for energy efficiency. The war completely changed the way gas flows into the European market as most of France’s gas imports are now coming from the United States, Norway, Qatar, and Algeria,” Lafon revealed.
Speaking further, Lafon explained that natural gas currently accounts for 15% of the French energy mix, noting that most of the country’s gas consumption comes from importation.
She said, “France is an entry point for the entire European market. We have five regasification plants. In 2023, we developed a Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) terminal, which we use for our gas importation.
“We have an effective storage regulation that supports the natural gas sector in France. The regulation has set a mandate that obliged French gas suppliers to store at least 20% of natural gas in their underground storage facility.
“There will be even more molecules coming from natural gas and it will contribute to French energy security for a long-term period.”
In addition, she noted that the French government developed a framework focused on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to make France become carbon neutral by 2050.
She stated that this can be achieved by providing the necessary funding mechanism for the local production of low-carbon gases in France.
However, she said that France Gaz is working on a methodology for the recognition of green gases based on the GHG protocols, noting that its member companies are also working to decarbonize the country’s energy sector through innovative project development.
“We have 700 projects in the pipeline in terms of biomethane plants that will be injected into the French energy grids.
“We are looking at how we can develop CCS projects in the future.
“The CCS project will capture hard-to-bate industries, while C02 will be injected into depleted fields such as the North Sea.
“We are also working on industrial projects to use two technologies for pyrogaseification and hydrothermal gaseification,” she outlined.
“Our electricity generation is coming from nuclear power that is considered low carbon. The French government has set a target of about 50 percent of the country’s energy mix will come from electricity and this would also require green molecules (including green hydrogen).
“We have up to 13TWh of injection capacity of biomethane, representing 3% of France’s energy mix. We are expecting to reach more than 50TWh capacity by 2030.
“We would also produce green gas from domestic and industrial waste through the use of technology. We are currently developing Aerobic Technology for biomethane production.
“What is important right now is energy security for our consumers and we are also trying to put some green energy production in our energy production system.
In her words, Lafon believes that there is an urgent need to increase investments and funding mechanisms for in-country research and development (R&D) to support the local production of green gases, including incorporating technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the energy value chain and enhancing the integration of low-emission gases.
To achieve the France energy transition target, she stated that there is a need for long-term investment in the natural gas sector as the global energy sector hasn’t been able to identify any specific technology that will be adopted by 2050.
“It is important to maintain gas investments for all its current usage, while the industry players focus on the decarbonization and production of renewables and low-carbon gases through the use of technologies.
“At France Gaz, we believe natural gas is key for the overall energy system in France.
“We need to continue to innovate and get access to funding to develop innovations as we don’t know the actual technology that will be used by 2050.
“Natural gas will contribute to French energy security for a long-term period.
“We predict about 20% of energy consumption will come from green gas produced locally by 2030.
“Also, low carbon hydrogen and biogenic C02 will be needed. If you look at the biogenic C02, when you produce biomethane, you will also produce biogenic C02. This will be part of the game changer to produce e-methane products, among others.
“We need to have investment in new technologies to support research and development to allow gas producers to develop innovative projects.
“Infrastructure will be key to getting the gases produced from the French territories. Our infrastructure system is made of LNG terminals, a regasification system, transport, distribution mechanism, and storage facilities. But we need to enhance these infrastructures to support green gases for the future.
“There are opportunities to develop technologies to produce green and low carbon gas molecules locally in France.
She added, “At France Gas, our mission is to get across to a wide range of stakeholders including media, government officials, politicians, students, and local authorities to share our vision with the whole industry so we can have a market for the green gases.
“We have signed MOUs with other countries, mainly in exchange for good processes, and market forecasts. Our vision in Europe is different from Africa. We share our vision with these countries.
“We are working to secure the gas industry locally and we are working to develop a key tool for decarbonization such as CCS. This is something that we support because we know that CCS will be useful for the hard-to-bate industries, especially in Europe.
“We will work on two key factors. The first one will be to decarbonize the ecosystem and the second one is sufficiency. These two factors will bring us to carbon neutrality by 2050.
“By 2050, natural gas will be completely decarbonized in France.”