Traditionally the President of the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM) has a busy year of face-to-face meetings, events and conferences. My presidency has, due to Covid-19, been very different. Like so many other businesses and professional bodies, the institution had to rapidly embrace virtual approaches, and this has continued during the last year with our flagship engineering conference among many events held successfully online.
Given this backdrop, I am very much looking forward to meeting members face-to-face once again later this month when Lord Deben delivers our annual Sir Denis Rooke Memorial Lecture, and in May when we gather for the annual Gas Industry Awards which coincides with the end of my Presidency. The past 12 months, however, have thrown my theme for the year – engineering a sustainable gas future – into even sharper focus.
Achieving a sustainable gas future
Digitalisation will be an enabler of net zero, and the pandemic sped up the institution’s own drive to digitise its services to members, such as events, training and licences. Such speed will be vital if the UK is to hit its 2050 net zero target. Indeed, we will need to go further and faster as the gas industry transitions from its current fossil-fuel product to a net zero product using hydrogen and biomethane. We will also need to extend our traditional reach beyond supplying gases mainly for heating to working with methane, hydrogen and CO2 captured for storage that’s also linked to wider demand across industry, transport and back-up power generation.
This transition – on a scale not seen since the switch from town gas to natural gas – will require thousands of more skilled people. They will need to understand different risks and requirements, use different detection equipment. And they will need to come from somewhere. With the whole world clamouring for the same skills, we can’t rely on importing them; we must develop them at home – beginning now by getting the next generation, who are still in school, engaged in STEM subjects.
Collaboration is key
This is a challenge that’s bigger than any one company. That’s why IGEM is collaborating right across the industry to ensure that the UK will have the skills necessary to transition to net zero. We’re also collaborating on new policies, procedures and standards that this shift will require. Acting as a central hub with the Hydrogen Knowledge Centre, the institution is coordinating with the Health and Safety Executive, laboratories, and industry experts. This is the work – often going on behind the scenes – that is enabling hydrogen demonstrator projects and will help build the evidence base for policymakers as they take key decisions on issues such as the widespread use of hydrogen for heating.
With my year as IGEM President coming to an end, I will soon be handing over to my successor. To them I offer these words: I hope you have the opportunity to meet and engage with our members and other likeminded people across our Industry, because they have a vital role to play in this critical period for our industry as we move towards a sustainable gas future. Although it’s a cliché, please remember to enjoy it, it will go quicker than you think.
