MEInetwork22 Seminar #4: Natural gas and hydrogen transmission and distribution

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ABOUT

This seminar was the fourth instalment in the MEInetwork22 Seminar Series. With a focus on Natural gas and hydrogen transmission and distribution, the seminar was co-presented by:

  • Mr David Norman, CEO of Future Fuels CRC;
  • Mr Steve Davies, CEO of the Australian Pipelines and Gas Association; and
  • Mr Robert Davis, Senior Engineer - Low Carbon Future at the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group.

Discussion was moderated by Professor Pierluigi Mancarella, Program Leader for Energy Systems at the Melbourne Energy Institute.

In this seminar, our speakers gave an overview of the existing infrastructure of the transmission and distribution of gas, and further introduced applied research that may support the transition to net zero of these clean molecule pathways. With examples of research and new knowledge from the Future Fuels CRC, the industry experts provided deep dives into the opportunities for transmission and distribution network energy users, with Mr Steve Davies speaking on transmission networks, and Mr Robert Davis speaking on gas distribution networks.

The seminar was hosted as a hybrid event, delivered in person and streamed online.

Date: Tuesday 30 August 2022
Presentation: 3:00 - 4:30 pm AEST
Venue: Manhari Room (Room 7212), Level 7, Melbourne Connect, 700 Swanston St and online

SLIDES & RECORDING

View the slides

View the recording

MEInetwork22

To transform our energy system, we first need to understand how it works. The MEInetwork Seminar Series aims to give participants a sound understanding of the current technical and economic factors that underpin the Australian energy system. Knowledge of these market factors is critical in determining the changes required to move towards a clean energy system.

Each year, the Seminar Series takes a deep dive into the complete supply and value chain of one of our primary energy vectors. In 2022, the MEInetwork22 Seminar Series will be comprised of seven seminars covering the gas supply chain, including discussion of the prospects of hydrogen displacing natural gas.

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SPEAKERS

Mr David Norman
Chief Executive Officer
Future Fuels CRC

Since 2018, David Norman has led the successful start-up of the Future Fuels CRC, a major collaborative partnership involving nearly 100 companies, six world-leading universities, various government entities and a community of nearly 700 active members providing evidence-based impact and action toward large-scale use of decarbonised fuels, transported through new and re-purposed infrastructure. David also serves on the Advisory Board of CSIRO’s Hydrogen Mission, the Advisory Board the Net Zero Australia Initiative, the Industry Advisory board of the Hycel Facility at Deakin University and Australia’s H2 Under 2 Working Group.

Previously, he was a founding member of the renowned HyResource Portal, listing and summarising all hydrogen activities in Australia. Before that, he worked for Shell Australia for more than 21 years in an array of commercial, managerial and technical roles, both in Australia and globally, including as Strategy Manager, Investment Planning Manager, Plant Manager at a major refinery and General Manager of LNG for Transport. David has a passion for facilitating relationships between research and industry partners and delivering the substantial long-term mutual benefits they have the potential to create.

Mr Steve Davies
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Pipelines and Gas Association

Mr Steve Davies has more than 15 years' experience in policy development, project management and stakeholder engagement. He works in infrastructure and energy industry associations to deliver services and results for members, and is focused on practical, evidence-based outcomes to deal with complex policy challenges.

Mr Robert Davis 
Senior Engineer - Low Carbon Future
Australian Gas Infrastructure Group

Robert Davis is a Senior Engineer specialising in Low Carbon Futures for the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group. He previously worked as an Innovation Engineer for the Australian Hydrogen Centre, and spent close to a decade in various roles at APA Group, Australia's largest natural gas infrastructure business, finally serving as Head of Network Operations at a national level. In his current role he is focused on ensuring technical and regulatory certainty for the renewable gas transition.

MODERATOR

Professor Pierluigi Mancarella
Program Leader - Energy Systems
Melbourne Energy Institute, The University of Melbourne

Pierluigi Mancarella is Chair Professor of Electrical Power Systems at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Professor of Smart Energy Systems at the University of Manchester, UK. His key research interests include techno-economic modelling and analysis of multi-energy systems, grid integration of renewables and distributed energy resources, energy infrastructure planning under uncertainty, and security, reliability, and resilience of low-carbon networks. Pierluigi is the Energy Systems Program Leader at the Melbourne Energy Institute, an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Power and Energy Society Distinguished Lecturer, the Convenor of the CIGRE (International Council of Large Electric Systems) C6/C2.34 Working Group on Flexibility Provision from Distributed Energy Resources, holds the 2017 veski innovation fellowship for his work on urban-scale virtual power plants, and is a recipient of the international Newton Prize 2018 for his work on power system resilience in Chile.

He is author of several books and over 300 research papers and reports, and is a journal editor of the IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, the IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, and Oxford Open Energy. In the past few years, Pierluigi has supported the Finkel Review panel, the Australian Energy Market Operator, the Australian Energy Market Commission, and the Australian Energy Regulator on relevant research and consultancy projects on power system security, reliability, and resilience, and has led and been involved in several projects via the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and Cooperative Research Centres.

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