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The European Metrology Network for Energy Gases’ Strategic Research Agenda will guide its research activities

The EU is aiming to be climate neutral by 2050. This ambitious objective means that Europe must transform its energy generation and supply mechanisms to create a sustainable economy that produces zero-net greenhouse gas emissions.

To facilitate this transition, sustainable energy gases will need to play a key role in replacing coal, oil and ultimately, natural gas. Practical alternatives are urgently required and several European deployment projects are investigating options for blending hydrogen and natural gas or replacing it with a range of alternative low carbon gases, like biomethane, biogas, synthetic methane and hydrogen. This will gradually reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and help to decarbonise several sectors of the European economy.

At EURAMET, the European Metrology Network for Energy Gases has been established to identify the measurement challenges and needs that will be created by this energy transition to renewable gaseous fuels. Towards the end of last year, the EMN finalised its Strategic Research Agenda (SRA), which will serve as an essential reference point to guide the network’s collaborative metrological research activities.

Formed as a result of consultations with stakeholders and metrology institutes across Europe, the SRA report discusses current and future trends for energy gases, and highlights potential hurdles where measurement solutions may be required. These challenges have been explored across a wide array of sustainable gaseous fuels, and the report includes examples such as flow metering challenges and issues related to leak detection.

Importantly, the report additionally incorporates a stakeholder prioritisation of measurement challenges in short to midterm scenarios, such as gas quality measurements, validation of online purity analysers for hydrogen and biomethane, and the representative sampling of gas. While some of these challenges are already being addressed in on-going EURAMET EMPIR projects, the report will also ensure that other research priorities are appropriately dealt with in the future.

Annarita Baldan, Chair of the EMN, comments:

“The European Metrology Network (EMN) for Energy Gases […] has identified measurement needs and technical challenges in the field of energy gases that should be solved as a matter of priority through collaborative efforts between National Metrology Institutes, Designated Institutes and industry. The results are formulated in this document: the first edition of the Strategic Research Agenda for EMN Energy Gases. We believe it is a valuable and comprehensive document and we hope that it will be the reference point for metrological research in the field of energy gases.”

To read the full report, please follow this link: Energy Gases Strategic Research Agenda

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