Gastech, 'gas needed to cover growing energy demand'

Gastech returns to Milan. The travelling trade fair dedicated to natural gas, LNG, hydrogen, climate technologies, and artificial intelligence in the energy sector brings together at Rho Fiera from 9 to 12 September over 50 thousand participants from 150 countries, a thousand exhibitors, more than a thousand speakers, 25 ministers - including the US's Doug Burgum (Interior) and Chris Wright (Energy) - and the CEOs of the main companies in the sector - from our own Eni and Snam, to Shell, Vitol, and TotalEnergy among others. "Milan is one of the global capitals, an important industrial hub with excellent connections," notes Christopher Hudson, president of Dmg Events, which organises the event: "That is why it is so attractive to our international audience. Manufacturers come from Africa, the Middle East, the US, buyers from Europe, Asia. We have 65 government delegations, here to close long-term or short-term supply agreements. They meet in a wonderful venue, with excellent infrastructure and positive spin-offs for the city'.

Hudson outlines the role of gas in the current scenario: 'One of the issues we discuss at Gastech, and that every country is asking, is how to secure stable access to energy supplies, in a way that is sustainable from an investment and CO2 perspective? N0i believe that gas, and LNG, are the foundation of our energy system now and in the future. They are poised to grow substantially in the coming years. Electricity demand in the world is set to rise, partly because of the needs of artificial intelligence and data centres, but mainly because of the increase in population, estimated at 9.8 billion in 2050, and its demand. Think of the needs of the new middle class, not forgetting that less than one billion people are still without access to electricity and two billion have no clean fuel for cooking. Gas and LNG can fill a large gap between production and increasing demand, in a complementary development to renewables, providing flexibility to the system when wind and sun are lacking. Gas and LNG can also be cheaper, not least because of the large quantities that the US is pouring into the market, with a view, for each country, to diversification. Demand will not dry up, there is a strong market and we expect more and more gas and LNG: they are the source with the least emissions, flexible, affordable. And LNG is able to serve territories with less infrastructure, which is crucial to provide access to energy to those who do not have it. To meet the growing demand for electricity, there is a lot of talk about nuclear power, but it will take time. For an immediate supply, gas plays its role'.

There is also the development of hydrogen among the themes of the event. According to Hudson, this technology can be competitive: 'In the future, it can be a pillar of the energy mix. It is a question of buyers and infrastructure, which Europe already has to some extent. The more hydrogen reaches the market, the more the price will fall, as has happened with gas'. The other special observer is AI: 'It is a revolution that is already underway. Alongside increased electricity consumption, it is also bringing, in the energy sector, optimisation, emission cuts, increased production,' Hudson concludes.