NEWSLETTER

 Greetings!

I trust our fall newsletter finds you well. As we head into the holiday season, I’d like to take a moment to express gratitude to all our members and friends for supporting our program this year. I would also like to welcome our new affiliate members, ConocoPhillips, Promigas and Chesapeake Energy.

On September 1st the Doerr Stanford School of Sustainability officially opened and NGI is proud to be part of the new school as well as the Precourt Institute for Energy. With our research portfolio focused on sustainable gas, we are looking forward to engaging deeply with the Stanford community on a broad range of energy topics. The current geopolitical situation has reemphasized how important natural gas is in ensuring reliable, affordable, clean energy around the globe. We are more motivated that ever to conduct this important work to accelerate decarbonization using natural gas and ensure the gas we use is as clean as possible.   

NGI researchers continue to make exciting progress and have shared the results in our meetings this quarter and in publications. We are also thrilled to have a team out in the Arizona desert doing trail-blazing methane detection field tests with twenty different companies.

This quarter we were honored to host a workshop on blue hydrogen with carbon capture and storage, our annual affiliates meeting and a workshop on the utility of the future. NGI was also featured at the Stanford Global Energy Forum. 

We are planning a number of in-person events in 2023 and hope to see you all on campus in the new year.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support of our program. A summary of recent activities and publications can be found below.

Happy Holidays!

Naomi Boness

Managing Director, Stanford Natural Gas Initiative 

Stanford NGI is pleased to announce our new members!

(This list contains the names of organizations joining the initiative since our last newsletter)

ConocoPhillips

Promigas

Chesapeake Energy

Thank you for your support of the Stanford Natural Gas Initiative.

We are looking forward to new opportunities to collaborate in an effort to “generate the knowledge needed to use natural gas to its greatest social, economic and environmental benefit.”

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Detecting and quantifying methane emissions from oil and gas production: algorithm development with ground-truth calibration based on Sentinel-2 satellite imagery

Zhang, Z., Sherwin, E. D., Varon, D. J., and Brandt, A. R.: Detecting and quantifying methane emissions from oil and gas production: algorithm development with ground-truth calibration based on Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-771

Abstract: Sentinel-2 satellite imagery has been shown by studies to be capable of detecting and quantifying methane emis- sions from oil and gas production. However, current methods lack performance validation by calibration with ground-truth testing. This study developed a multi-band-multi-pass-multi-comparison methane retrieval algorithm that enhances Sentinel-2 sensitivity to methane plumes. The method was calibrated using data from a large-scale controlled release test in Ehrenberg, Arizona in fall 2021, with three algorithm parameters tuned based on the true emission rates. Tuned parameters are the pixel- level concentration upper bound threshold during extreme value removal, the number of comparison dates, and the pixel-level methane concentration percentage threshold when determining the spatial extent of a plume. We found that a low value of the upper bound threshold during extreme value removal can result in false negatives. A high number of comparison dates helps enhance the algorithm sensitivity to the plumes in the target date, but values in excess of 12 days are neither necessary nor computationally efficient. A high percentage threshold when determining the spatial extent of a plume helps enhance the quan- tification accuracy, but it may harm the yes/no detection accuracy. We found that there is a trade-off between quantification accuracy and detection accuracy. In a scenario with the highest quantification accuracy, we achieved the lowest quantification error and had zero false positive detections; however, the algorithm missed 3 true plumes which reduced the yes/no detection accuracy. On the contrary, all the true plumes were detected in the highest detection accuracy scenario, but the emission rate quantification had higher errors. We also illustrated a two-step method that updates the emission rate estimates in an interim step which improves quantification accuracy while keeping high yes/no detection accuracy. We also validated the algorithm’s ability to avoid false positives by applying it to a nearby region with no emissions.

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Energy for Freedom 

Turning wasted energy into bytes to save the environment!

Why not use all of our wasted methane to power energy-hungry computers, particularly those used for bitcoin? That’s what two recent Stanford graduates are doing at Energy for Freedom (a.k.a. e4f). They just started their first operation in the wonderful state of Wyoming, using flared gas from an oil-producing well to mine Bitcoin. 

Jose Matias Fuentes Mattioli came to Stanford to be part of the new version of the Automotive Industry, after 13 years of engineering cars at Jaguar Land Rover. His plans were thwarted when he suffered a severe attack of the entrepreneurial bug at the GSB. That, combined with a 10 year love affair with Bitcoin, meant he saw an opportunity to use geographically constrained sources of energy which could be freed by using telecommunications. Natural Gas from oil wells seemed an obvious candidate so he turned to friend and classmate Nicolas Ziperovich.

When Nico decided to pivot from comfortable corporate suburban life in South America, after working in oil and gas for more than 20 years, to a one-year master’s program at Stanford Business School, he did not imagine it would be so challenging and so gratifying at the same time. He wanted to be in the front seat of an unprecedented energy transition driven not by the market but by pressure from the people. He participated in all kinds of projects: lithium batteries repurposing, renewable gas battery storage, the first ever transcontinental HDVC cable connecting Europe and North America, and environmental and people-counting sensors. He knew he had to try that entrepreneurial flavor that can be smelled across Stanford. And he finally found a venture that ties the energy transition to the market by co-founding Energy for Freedom (E4F) with Matias.

E4F uses wasted gas (flared, vented, stranded from oil and gas wells, biogas from landfills, wastewater treatment, cow burps) to power computer servers. Gas to bytes.

Methane emissions are a bigger problem than we thought. Methane has more than 80 times the warming power of CO2 over the first 20 years after it reaches the atmosphere, and the amount of methane emitted represents around the emissions of 6,000 million cars (5x total passenger vehicles worldwide on the road today). 

They also saw that there was ever-growing computing use and that remote communications were better than ever, so data could be transmitted from almost everywhere. 

E4F is 1) reducing greenhouse gas emissions, 2) increasing US energy independence, by harvesting unused sources of energy, and 3) Increasing the resilience of the electric grid, by providing energy back to the grid during demand peaks, and 4) making money! E4F is hoping to inspire more energy researchers and entrepreneurs to follow their lead.  Developing a business that also serves the greater good.  

Stanford researchers reveal how to turn a global warming liability into a profitable food security solution

Methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, can be captured and transformed into protein-rich feed for farmed fish – an increasingly important food sector. A new analysis shows how to make the approach more cost-effective than current fish feeds. Watch the video here.

“Industrial sources in the U.S. are emitting a truly staggering amount of methane, which is uneconomical to capture and use with current applications,” said study lead author Sahar El Abbadi, who conducted the research as a graduate student in civil and environmental engineering.

“While some companies are doing this already with pipeline natural gas as feedstock, a preferable feedstock would be methane emitted at large landfills, wastewater treatment plants and oil and gas facilities,” said study co-author Craig Criddle, a professor of civil and environmental engineering in Stanford’s School of Engineering. “This would result in multiple benefits. including lower levels of a potent greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, more stable ecosystems and positive financial outcomes.”

The study was funded by the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health and the Stanford Natural Gas Initiative.

Criddle is also a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, a member of Stanford Bio-X and an affiliate of the Precourt Institute for Energy.

Co-author Adam Brandt is an associate professor of energy resources engineering and senior fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy, and co-author Stephen Luby is a professor of infectious diseases, a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, a member of Stanford Bio-X and the Stanford Maternal & Child Health Research Institute and director of research at the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health.

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Closing the methane gap in US oil and natural gas production emissions inventories

Yuanlei Chen, Evan D. Sherwin, Elena S.F. Berman, Brian B. Jones, Matthew P. Gordon, Erin B. Wetherley, Eric A. Kort, and Adam R. Brandt

Environmental Science & Technology 2022 56 (7), 4317-4323

DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c06458

Abstract: Methane (CH4) emissions from oil and natural gas (O&NG) systems are an important contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. In the United States, recent synthesis studies of field measurements of CH4 emissions at different spatial scales are ~1.5–2× greater compared to official greenhouse gas inventory (GHGI) estimates, with the production-segment as the dominant contributor to this divergence. Based on an updated synthesis of measurements from component-level field studies, we develop a new inventory-based model for CH4 emissions, for the production-segment only, that agrees within error with recent syntheses of site-level field studies and allows for isolation of equipment-level contributions. We find that unintentional emissions from liquid storage tanks and other equipment leaks are the largest contributors to divergence with the GHGI. If our proposed method were adopted in the United States and other jurisdictions, inventory estimates could better guide CH4 mitigation policy priorities.

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About Energy Switch

Energy and climate are intertwined, two of the most important topics in the world today. Yet viewers know very little about them. This show aims to change that. Energy Switch brings together two renowned experts from government, NGOs, academia and industry, with differing perspectives on important energy and climate topics, such as: Could solar and wind power our future? Or could hydrogen be the dominant energy source? Should we have more or less nuclear power? How should we respond to climate change? What policies most effectively reduce emissions? How could we pay for them?

These lively discussions and others are moderated by renowned energy scientist and communicator Dr. Scott Tinker. The show is produced, written and directed by Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Harry Lynch, creator of the celebrated PBS series Great Performances: Now Hear This and Stories of the Mind.

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NGI at Innovation Day and Global Energy Forum

About Innovation Day

Stanford University lies in the heart of one of the world’s most unique ecosystems that continues to shape the world through its innovations and talent. Innovation Day at Stanford convenes, by-invitation, stakeholders around accelerating technology solutions to the world's most pressing energy and climate issues. Innovation Day at Stanford showcases start-up technology and features critical dialogues on deploying solutions at speed and scale. Innovation Day is a one-of-a-kind convening of Stanford's energy technology ecosystem including venture capital, angel investors, corporate venture, start-ups, and Stanford research faculty. 

Engage with over 300 peers who are advancing energy technology.

Network with investors, start-ups, and world-renowned Stanford researchers.

Learn about innovation in energy technologies and policies from cutting-edge innovators.

Gain insights into rapidly evolving sectors of the global energy ecosystem.

Help carve pathways toward accelerating technology solutions.

About Global Energy Forum

As the premier energy event at Stanford, the by-invitation Global Energy Forum brings together a unique delegation of global citizens, industry leaders, energy experts, and innovative problem solvers to holistically address the challenges of the transforming global energy ecosystem. 

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An interview with Dr. Evan Sherwin, an NGI-supported Stanford postdoctoral researcher, was featured in a November 21 profile of the satellite-based methane sensing company GHGSat in the Globe and Mail, the Canadian newspaper of record. The interview highlighted the promise of the latest advances in methane emissions technology, including satellites and other sensors. “We need rapid screening technology and continuous monitoring to learn where emissions take place and how big they are,” says Sherwin. “With that data, we can reduce emissions by an order of magnitude.”

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Michael Wara, policy director at Stanford University Doerr School of Sustainability, talks about the impacts of climate change at the Climate Collaboration Summit at Gunn High School in Palo Alto on Nov. 12, 2022. Photo by Gennady Sheyner. 

Climate bills brighten mood at Palo Alto summit

While much of the discussion at the panel concerned local and state efforts, Michael Wara, policy director at the Stanford University Doerr School of Sustainability, said a critical task in the years ahead will be developing ways in which less affluent societies in places like China and India can participate in the transformation. The strategy he outlined consisted of two steps: clean up the electric grid by replacing coal plants with renewable sources like solar and wind and then "electrify everything."

"Of course, there's going to be bumps," Wara said. "We're transforming the fundamental basis of modern technological society — that's what we're doing. But we're doing it."

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"Electricity is very poorly understood — it is different because if we live in the same geographical region, for you to get electricity, I need to get electricity. In other words, electricity flows according to the laws of physics — it doesn’t flow to the laws of economics,” says Frank A. Wolak. 

We can address climate change through virtue signalling - or taking real action

Frank A. Wolak teaches economics at Stanford University. Speaking to Srijana Mitra Das, he discusses steps to encourage the use of renewables — even amidst a global energy crisis.

“There is a huge amount of liquified natural gas (LNG) import capacity into Europe which is dramatically underutilised. The simplest solution is to get as much of this resource from outside Europe into storage in Europe to get through winter. The United States could help Europe in a big way. We can harvest natural gas and if given an impetus, this could jumpstart the US economy and send energy out to Europe.”

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Stanford’s Precourt Institute announces winners of 2022 Global Energy Heroes competition

Developing capacity to economically store excess solar and wind power for later use is one of the most pressing priorities for making electricity systems more sustainable. The startup ElectricFish makes modular battery packs that can charge an electric vehicle enough to go 100 miles in just 10 minutes. These large battery packs, deployed at sites like gas stations and convenience stores, are charged with renewable power only.

In addition, a significant ElectricFish presence in a given area could improve the reliability of the local electric grid, the founders say. As reliance on intermittent solar and wind power grows, energy storage – both large, centralized capacity and local resources ­– is becoming increasingly critical to keeping power demand and supply in balance to avoid blackouts.

The company was founded by Folasade Ayoola, a PhD student in Stanford’s Department of Energy Resources Engineering and Anurag Kamal, MS '18 at Michigan Technological University. Kamal earned a certificate in innovation and entrepreneurship from the Ignite program at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. The two founders were recognized by Forbes in its 2022 “30 Under 30 in Energy” list.

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Don't forget, global emissions are still moving the wrong direction

The underlying tension behind the COP27 summit is a simple one: emissions are still rising too fast and countries have not pledged to do enough. A new report from the Global Carbon Project highlighted that today. It says emissions from burning fossil fuels are expected to reach record levels this year, more than 50% higher than they were when the Industrial Revolution began.

If emissions continue at the current pace, the world risks overshooting its goal of keeping warming to 1.5 degrees in just nine years.

"We're dangerously close to 1.5 Celsius thresholds," says Rob Jackson, climate scientist at Stanford University who worked on the report, which was compiled by scientists around the globe.

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CE3 Names new Ambassadors

C3E Ambassadors are distinguished senior executives, academics, government officials, and thought leaders who serve as role models and advocates for women in clean energy. They represent the C3E program at public forums and work to strengthen the recruitment, retention, and advancement of highly qualified women in the energy field. Ambassadors select the annual C3E Award winners and provide strategic input on the C3E Initiative.

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