NEWSLETTER

NGI Update

Greetings!

We hope our summer newsletter finds you all well. This quarter NGI researchers have been busier than ever with many exciting projects in our strategic focus areas. We published seminal papers on methane emissions quantification and detection technologies and kicked off a new research project to evaluate the lifecycle emissions of hydrogen pathways. Significant strides were made on many projects (see details below), including the filing of a patent by Nils Averesch on NGI funded work related to converting methane to sustainable polymers. We have also been busy planning more field work campaigns that will take place this fall to evaluate methane detection technologies.

In May, we held a Hydrogen Dialogue, co-hosted with Energy Dialogues and discussed important issues at the intersection of hydrogen and natural gas. We are planning a number of in-person events and hope to see you all on campus in the fall:

Hydrogen Derived from Natural Gas with CCUS – September 20-21

NGI Annual Industrial Affiliates Meeting – October 18-19

Utility of the Future – October 20

Global Energy Forum – November 1-3

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

Naomi Boness

Cameran and Mara enjoy their first day in the lab with Nils Averesch, Staff Scientist in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (Criddle-Lab).

Undergrad Students Earn an Opportunity to Work on Sub-projects Related to NGI-Award

Two UC Berkeley students, Mara and Cameran, will be working in the Criddle-Lab this summer. Mara is joining us through the SURF Program, which hosts historically underrepresented undergraduate students from across the country at Stanford.

The students will be working on sub-projects related to the NGI award: (1) improving methanol uptake through genetic engineering of carbon dioxide fixing microbes, and (2) biosynthesis of the advanced biopolyester "poly(4-hydroxybenzoic acid)" from single-carbon feedstocks. Overall these two projects, when linked together, should get us closer to one-step biosynthesis of bioplastics from methane and carbon dioxide.

We are so please to have Cameran and Mara here on campus!

Limitations of econometric evaluation of nonrandomized residential energy efficiency programs: A case study of

Northern California rebate programs

Authors: Evan D. Sherwin, Russell M. Meyer, and Inês M.L. Azevedo

Abstract:

Residential energy efficiency programs play an important role in combating climate change. More precise quantification of the magnitude and timing of energy savings would bring large system benefits, allowing closer integration of energy efficiency into resource adequacy planning and balancing variable renewable electricity. However, it is often difficult to quantify the efficacy of an energy efficiency intervention, because doing so requires consideration of a hypothetical counterfactual case in which there was no intervention, and randomized control trials are often implausible. Although quasi-experimental econometric evaluation sometimes works well, we find that for a set of energy efficiency rebate programs in Northern California, a naïve interpretation of econometric measurement finds that rebate participation is associated with an average increase in electricity consumption of 7.2% [4.5%, 10.1%], varying in magnitude and sign depending on the type of appliance or service covered by the rebate. A subsequent household survey on appliance purchasing behavior and analysis of utility customer outreach data suggest that this regression approach is likely measuring the gross impact of buying a new appliance but fails to adequately capture a counterfactual comparison. Indeed, it is unclear whether it is even possible to construct a suitable counterfactual for econometric analyses of these rebate programs using data generally available to electric utilities. We view these results as an illustration of a limitation of econometric methods of program evaluation and the importance of weighing engineering modeling and other imperfect methods against one another when attempting to provide useful evaluations of real-world policy interventions.

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Controlled release experimental methods: 2021 Stanford controlled releases in TX and AZ

Authors: Jeffery S. Rutherford, Evan D. Sherwin, Yulia Chen, Adam R. Brandt

Background:

Draft document v18, April 21th 2022

Introduction: Due to increasing concern regarding methane emissions from oil and gas operations, a variety of mobile detection technologies have been developed. Some of the most promising of these technologies are airplane- and satellite-based technologies, which can survey large areas of land rapidly. Public, independent, and blind tests are key to establishing the effectiveness of these technologies.

For this reason, Stanford University conducted a series of controlled releases in 2021. These releases aimed to test a variety of airplane- and satellite-based detection methods at large release rates similar to those observed in the field. These methods are developed as an extension of the methods described in Ravikumar et al. [1] and Sherwin et al. [2].

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Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, director of Stanford's Hoover Institution, being interviewed by professor Arun Majumdar at the Hydrogen Initiative launch symposium (Image credit: Rod Searcey).

Stanford University launches research initiative on hydrogen as a climate solution

The idea that a hydrogen economy could end dependence on fossil fuels has waxed and waned several times since 1970. Now, technological advances and a greater focus on climate change have again brought hydrogen to the fore, if not as a total climate solution, then at least a significant one.

In response to these developments, Stanford University launched the Stanford Energy Hydrogen Initiative research and education program to figure out the best uses of hydrogen for decarbonization and to fund development of the necessary technologies, policies, and financial mechanisms. Three Stanford programs – the Precourt Institute for Energy, the Natural Gas Initiative and the SUNCAT Center for Interface Science & Catalysis – have been organizing the Hydrogen Initiative for three years. More than 30 Stanford faculty members have been involved, ranging from mechanical engineers to economists, many with active research in hydrogen already.

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The Energy Solutions Week inside the Mackenzie Room at Huang. The audience is a mixture of investors, corporate representatives, faculty members and students (Photo courtesy of Precourt Institute of Energy).

Stanford’s annual Energy Solutions Week highlights advancements in energy technology

With the official opening of the Doerr School of Sustainability on the horizon, the Precourt Institute of Energy held its annual Global Energy Solutions Week from May 2 to 6, during which the institute showcased Stanford’s advancements in energy and sustainable infrastructure research.

This year’s theme was Frontiers in Energy Technology. Five main topics spanned the week: hydrogen for decarbonization, energy storage solutions, research energy showcase, AI for clean energy and climate resilience and electricity grid innovations.

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Women in Hydrogen 50

As hydrogen starts to gain a foothold in the energy transition, there is a need for women’s voices and the diversity within this industry to be highlighted. Hydrogen Economist occupies a unique position in the global energy industry to provide a platform and a voice to under-represented, under-promoted and under-recognized women.

Hydrogen Economist has published the Women in Hydrogen 50, which profiles 50 influential and boundary-pushing women in this growing sector.

NGI's Naomi Boness was awarded in the "Industrial Use and Switching" category which recognizes leaders in hard-to-abate sectors driving the use of clean hydrogen to reduce emissions.

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Photo Credit: Alex Horvath / The Californian

Economists doubt pumping more oil in California would lower fuel prices

“If you could increase (California oil production) by half a million barrels a day, what do you think that would do to the price? Almost nothing,” said Stanford University economist Frank Wolak, senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. Maybe the added supply would lower prices a penny per gallon of gas, he estimated.

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Photo Credit: Science Blog

A better way to separate gases

Industrial processes for chemical separations, including natural gas purification and the production of oxygen and nitrogen for medical or industrial uses, are collectively responsible for about 15 percent of the world’s energy use. They also contribute a corresponding amount to the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Now, researchers at MIT and Stanford University have developed a new kind of membrane for carrying out these separation processes with roughly 1/10 the energy use and emissions.

READ MORE FROM STANFORD CHEMISTRY WEBSITE

READ MORE IN MIT SCIENCE BLOG

Stanford aerial survey measures methane release into atmosphere

A new study out of Stanford is highlighting the power of an airborne technology in fighting methane pollution.

It follows in the aerial footsteps of a state supported project called Carbon Mappe we told you about last year that captured images showing the chemical fingerprint of methane gas released into the atmosphere over California. In that project, researchers used airborne detectors employing sophisticated mass spectrometers to gather the data.

WATCH INTERVIEW

A US oil-drilling hotspot is kicking out far more methane than we thought

One of the largest and fastest-growing oil production sites in the US is emitting far more methane than previously measured. It’s well known that oil and natural-gas production is a significant source of the powerful greenhouse gas: methane that is trapped underground leaks out from wells and pipelines, and it can also be released intentionally through venting and flaring, or burning. But an aerial survey of the Permian Basin in New Mexico revealed more leakage than even the highest estimates had suggested to date.

“We were initially surprised by the magnitude,” says Yuanlei Chen, a graduate student at Stanford’s Energy Resources Engineering program and one of the authors of the study.

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Aerial methane survey detects more pollution, waste

The study estimated that methane emissions are equivalent to roughly 9% of the overall gas production in the surveyed area. That’s more than double the rate in several previous studies of the Permian Basin and national estimates by the U.S. government of natural gas lost to leaks and releases.

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This $1.5 billion startup promised to deliver clean fuels as cheap as gas. Experts are deeply skeptical.

Prometheus Fuels unveiled its "Maxwell Core," a pipe-shaped device packed with a membrane riddled with carbon nanotubes, forming pores that separate alcohols from water. Prometheus says it has raised more than $50 million from BMW’s investment arm, shipping giant Maersk, Y Combinator, and others. The startup has already struck deals to sell millions of gallons of its fuels to American Airlines and other aviation companies. It earned a shoutout in a Biden administration announcement detailing US efforts to shift toward sustainable aviation fuels. And after closing its venture round last September, the company announced that it was valued at more than $1.5 billion.

Prometheus claims it will transform the global fuel sector by drawing greenhouse gas out of the air and converting it into carbon-neutral fuels that are as cheap as dirty, conventional ones.

If they’ve indeed figured out how to do this, it “could lead to significant energy and cost savings,” says Evan David Sherwin, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford who produced the Environmental Science & Technology study.

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Photo Credit: John Raoux / Associated Press

Canadian firm that tracks methane leaks from orbit launches three more satellites

Montreal-based GHGSat Inc., which aims to be a world leader in the detection of greenhouse gas emissions from space, has launched three additional satellites. The launch doubles the growing retinue of orbiters that GHGSat can use to spot methane gas leaking into Earth’s atmosphere from industrial sites, farms and landfills. The company’s first three satellites were launched between 2016 and 2021. Six more are set to lift off in 2023.

“These additional satellites will help us get a much better idea of how much methane is actually being emitted from global point sources, particularly oil and gas,” said Evan Sherwin, a postdoctoral researcher in energy resources engineering at Stanford University in California who led a controlled release of methane in 2021 that tested GHGSat’s ability to actively target and perceive emissions from locations of interest on the ground.

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