Natural Gas One of the Fastest Growing Sources of Energy in the World

Why is natural gas one of the fastest growing sources of energy in the world, with demand expected to grow for decades to come? Well, beyond the fact that it’s the cleanest burning, and fastest growing fossil fuel, it is the main fuel used in clean hydrogen.

What is clean hydrogen?
It is blue hydrogen — which is derived from natural gas through the process of steam methane reforming (SMR). SMR mixes natural gas with very hot steam, in the presence of a catalyst, where a chemical reaction creates hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The carbon dioxide emissions produced are then captured and stored underground using Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technology leaving nearly pure hydrogen.

In the not too distant future, countries will be using clean hydrogen for heating, transportation fuel, and power generation. It is our first real source of energy that produces almost zero emissions.

Unlike the use of the battery powered options – which are supposed to be our best renewable choice, but are a terrible renewable source. Did you know that a single car lithium-ion battery pack includes 8 kg of mined lithium, 35 kg of mined nickel, 20 kg of mined manganese, and 14 kg of mined cobalt? That’s a lot of mining, a lot of CO2 emission, and a lot of waste once the batteries are of no use.

Natural gas demand is good for Alberta because in addition to having access to an abundance of low cost natural gas for use as feedstock in steam methane reforming, we are world leading experts in carbon capture, use and sequestration (CCUS) technology and application.

Innovation and technology, along with robust natural resources are a win-win for Albertans and ultimately all Canadians.