The Natural Gas Initiative at Stanford University has been taken over by Adam Brandt, an associate professor in the Department of Energy Resources Engineering.

Mark Zoback, an emeritus professor of geophysics at Stanford, has led NGI since its inception in 2015 and is retiring after nearly 37 years at the university.

Frank Wolak, an economics professor, will remain as NGI's co-director. The interdisciplinary research programme generates the information required to optimise the social, economic, and environmental benefits of natural gas.

“We are at a critical juncture in terms of planning and investing in future energy systems,” Brandt said. “This critical work will build on my predecessor, Mark Zoback's, strong foundation.”

Brandt said, "It is more likely than ever that the planet will be able to escape the most extreme global warming scenarios." “Until the cost of energy storage is substantially reduced, natural gas can play an increasingly important role in supplying stable and resilient power in decarbonizing regions.”

Brandt's study has focused on reducing the environmental effects of energy systems in general. His lab aims to quantify and estimate the impacts of innovations at large scales, as well as to help reduce these impacts.

Reduced greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and power systems can be achieved by optimising renewable energy incorporation. Much of Stanford's research into measuring and economically detecting natural gas leakage at production sites and pipelines has been led by him. Natural gas's primary ingredient, methane, is a powerful greenhouse gas.

“Adam Brandt is not only a well-known scientist who is working on cutting-edge research to reduce methane emissions to the atmosphere, but he has also been a key contributor to NGI since its inception. I'm excited to see where NGI goes in the future under Adam's leadership,” Zoback said.

In most developed economies, natural gas has supplanted coal as the main source of electricity production. In certain nations, such as the United States, gas emits far less emissions than coal and is therefore less costly. When solar and wind power generation slows, gas-fired power plants can easily ramp up, while coal plants are not built to do so. In emerging economies, gas is expected to complement renewables and meet rising energy demand, according to Brandt. Global natural gas use is projected to remain high through the end of the century, according to models for restricting global warming to 1.5°C.

“As a result, it is critical that potential gas demand be met in the most environmentally friendly manner possible,” Brandt said. “NGI already has a large research portfolio in these fields, which we plan to expand.”

NGI will continue to finance research to enhance natural gas leak detection, according to Brandt. It will also look at how to accelerate the transition from coal to a mix of renewables and natural gas in Asia, as well as how to turn methane into high-value goods, which could promote gas flaring reduction. Natural gas and its delivery networks can be useful in the production of hydrogen-based energy sources. Natural gas can also be mixed with biogas, hydrogen, or synthetic renewable-derived gas products, according to NGI.