The future of gas is changing, and we’re right behind it
Rockgas is part of Clarus (formally Firstgas Group), who are the energy experts. As a leader in New Zealand’s energy sector, Clarus has the future of gas in our sights while at the same time making sure our customers are delivered natural gas and LPG safely and reliably, right now.
We’re also using our collective knowledge and experience to advocate for industry and lead conversations about its future – New Zealand’s energy future.
We’re leading change by actively researching, innovating and investing our way to 2050’s net zero carbon goals by exploring the possibilities of low carbon, renewable gas like hydrogen, biogas and bioLPG. Read on to find out more:
We support the development of BioLPG
The development of BioLPG is an exciting area for research and development, and one that Clarus continues to support. Internationally the industry is well-established, producing over 460,000 tonnes of bioLPG globally each year and moving it around Europe. In the future New Zealand could likely make and import easily enough to cover our current LPG use, and research suggests we could replace 30% of LPG demand by 2035. The Government is interested in finding ways to support the scale-up of local biofuel production, which it notes is “particularly important for decarbonising the South Island. Read more about bioLPG here.
We’re building New Zealand’s first large scale biogas to pipeline facility
The state-of-the-art facility to be built at Ecogas’ Organics Processing Facility in Reporoa, will start transforming kerbside food waste into biomethane, a valuable source of renewable gas, from the second quarter of 2024. In the future Clarus would like to see the development of multiple renewable gas to pipeline facilities in New Zealand, that could produce enough gas to supply all residential users and three quarters of commercial gas users with low carbon gas, equivalent to taking 415,000 petrol cars off our roads. Read more here.
We’re also planning New Zealand’s first Hydrogen blend trial
In 2021 Firstgas Group (now Clarus) released study findings confirming that gas pipeline networks in New Zealand could flow a blend of hydrogen. Since this study we have been working behind the scenes to further investigate and plan for New Zealand’s first physical hydrogen blend trial using an existing natural gas network. We hope to announce more details about this trial later this year. Read more here about our Hydrogen Feasibility Study
Learn more about our journey towards a renewable gas future here. You can also read about today and tomorrow’s gas on Gas NZ’s Future Sure website here.