September 11, 2023

E-natural gas consortium could be gateway to lower carbon, more secure energy future

Submitted by sempra_hoa on
A possible new project on the U.S. Gulf Coast could be the first link of an international supply chain of liquefied e-natural gas, helping to create a more secure energy future for our partners and allies

An LNG transport ship at seaA more secure and cleaner energy future could be on the horizon with the recent announcement by Sempra Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Sempra. Sempra Infrastructure plans to evaluate a possible Gulf Coast project that would produce around 130,000 tons of e-natural gas per year.

The proposed project comes at a time when global leaders are calling for an increase in energy supply, particularly from North America as the supply dwindles in other parts of the world. Multiple studies also point that the demand for energy will only increase further as more economies look to electrify and decarbonize.

The project — which is currently being evaluated through a consortium comprised of Sempra Infrastructure, Tokyo Gas Company, Ltd., Osaka Gas Company, Ltd., Toho Gas Company., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corporation — focuses on supporting decarbonization goals in Japan. However, it could also serve as the first link of an international supply chain of carbon-neutral liquified e-natural gas — helping to address global energy challenges.

What is e-natural gas?

E-natural gas, also known as e-methane, is a carbon neutral synthetic natural gas derived from renewable hydrogen and recycled carbon dioxide. The renewable hydrogen and carbon are piped into a methanation plant, where they are combined using heat, pressure and a catalyst such as nickel. Once produced, e-natural gas is chemically indistinguishable from the natural gas that flows through the U.S. gas pipeline network today. In other words, it can be placed into existing gas networks and systems (e.g., pipelines, storage, liquefaction and regasification) without building new infrastructure — making it a prime potential (lower emission/carbon neutral) solution for fulfilling global energy demand.

E-natural gas is likely to be considered carbon neutral because it could be produced using hydrogen powered by renewables and recycled carbon as feedstock. The source of carbon for e-natural gas production is envisioned to be captured from industrial emitters, hence no new carbon emissions would be created from the production of e-natural gas.

Why is e-natural gas important?

For this proposed Sempra Infrastructure project — which could serve as a model for similar projects in the future — the e-natural gas would be used to help Japan reduce overall emissions intensity, helping meet the Japanese city gas companies’ goal to replace 1% of their LNG demand with e-natural gas by 2030. METI, Japan’s energy ministry, will soon be deliberating on whether to formally adopt this goal into Japan’s overall energy targets to have e-natural gas meet 90% of Japan’s natural gas needs by 2050.

 


 

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These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that Sempra has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC’s website, sec.gov, and on Sempra’s website, sempra.com. Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements.

Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, Sempra Texas, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and Infraestructura Energética Nova, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (IEnova) are not the same companies as the California utilities, SDG&E or SoCalGas, and Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, Sempra Texas, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and IEnova are not regulated by the CPUC.