This week sees the annual Flame gas conference in the Netherlands. More than 500 gas experts will gather to look back on an extreme year and reflect on the future together. Several Energie-Nederland members will make active contributions.

There is consensus that the high gas prices in 2022 were not desirable, but that the market did work. Supply and demand have rebalanced due to high prices and subsequent additional imports of LNG and gas savings.

Everyone also agrees on the fact that we have to be careful that government interventions, such as the European wholesale price cap, won’t do more harm than good.

As well as natural gas, there will also be a focus on the emergence of hydrogen gas. For instance, the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy stated in a panel debate that gaining experience with the development of large-scale electrolyzers is not something we should postpone. Especially after 2030, hydrogen will be a crucial link in the energy system. As the use of the natural gas network is phased out, pipelines can also be turned over to the hydrogen network.