Next year, Gastech returns to Houston for the first time since 2019. Photo via Gastech Event/LinkedIn

In one year, a global energy industry event will make its return to Houston.

Gastech, billed as the world’s largest exhibition and conference for the natural gas, LNG, hydrogen, low carbon solutions, and climate technologies, will take place in Houston September 17 to 20, 2024, according to the organizer, dmg events. It'll be the first time the event takes place in Houston since 2019.

“Gastech is a global event that draws tens of thousands of attendees and millions of dollars in economic impact to its host city, and we are incredibly excited to have in Houston," Michael Heckman, president and CEO of Houston First Corp., says in a press release.

"The conversation around the future of the energy industry is a different one today than it was just five years ago when Gastech was last here," he continues. "We believe the role Houston is playing in leading the energy transition to a low carbon future makes this an ideal place to host this important global event and we look forward to expanding on the success we had in 2019 when Gastech returns next year.”

Gastech 2023 concluded in Singapore last week. According to the organization, the event attracted 750 exhibiting companies and 44,957 attendees.

"Houston used to be known as an oil and gas capital. But we realised early on that it was important to be the energy capital," Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, says in the release. "On behalf of everyone in the city of Houston, we want you to know that everything really is bigger in Texas. Singapore has set a high bar, but we are going to raise the bar even higher in Houston – it will be a great conference.”

Expecting a similar crowd of over 40,000 attendees and 800 exhibitors, the conference, supported by Houston First and the Bilateral Chamber, will take place at George R Brown Convention Center and will set up 20 country pavilions showcasing international companies, per the release. While the agenda for the event has not been announced, programming will focus on the biggest energy industry trends, net zero strategy, next-generation energy solutions, project funding, energy transition, and more.

“Energy has been the foundation of what the city of Houston has stood for," Andy Icken, chief development officer for Houston, says in the release. "We have in Houston over 300 energy companies today and they will welcome you to our city.”

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Syzygy partners with fellow Houston co. on sustainable aviation fuel facility

SAF production

Houston-based Syzygy Plasmonics has announced a partnership with Velocys, another Houston company, on its first-of-its-kind sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production project in Uruguay.

Velocys was selected to provide Fischer-Tropsch technology for the project. Fischer-Tropsch technology converts synthesis gas into liquid hydrocarbons, which is key for producing synthetic fuels like SAF.

Syzygy estimates that the project, known as NovaSAF 1, will produce over 350,000 gallons of SAF annually. It is backed by Uruguay’s largest dairy and agri-energy operations, Estancias del Lago, with permitting and equipment sourcing ongoing. Syzygy hopes to start operations by 2027.

"This project proves that profitable SAF production doesn't have to wait on future infrastructure," Trevor Best, CEO of Syzygy Plasmonics, said in a news release. "With Velocys, we're bringing in a complete, modular solution that drives down overall production costs and is ready to scale. Uruguay is only the start."

The NovaSAF 1 facility will convert dairy waste and biogas into drop-in jet fuel using renewable electricity and waste gas via its light-driven GHG e-Reforming technology. The facility is expected to produce SAF with at least an 80 percent reduction in carbon intensity compared to Jet A fuel.

Syzygy will use Velocys’ microFTL technology to convert syngas into high-yield jet fuel. Velocys’ microFTL will help maximize fuel output, which will assist in driving down the cost required to produce synthetic fuel.

"We're proud to bring our FT technology into a project that's changing the game," Matthew Viergutz, CEO of Velocys, added in the release. "This is what innovation looks like—fast, flexible, and focused on making SAF production affordable."

How carbon capture works and the debate about whether it's a future climate solution

Energy Transition

Power plants and industrial facilities that emit carbon dioxide, the primary driver of global warming, are hopeful that Congress will keep tax credits for capturing the gas and storing it deep underground.

The process, called carbon capture and sequestration, is seen by many as an important way to reduce pollution during a transition to renewable energy.

But it faces criticism from some conservatives, who say it is expensive and unnecessary, and from environmentalists, who say it has consistently failed to capture as much pollution as promised and is simply a way for producers of fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal to continue their use.

Here's a closer look.

How does the process work?

Carbon dioxide is a gas produced by burning of fossil fuels. It traps heat close to the ground when released to the atmosphere, where it persists for hundreds of years and raises global temperatures.

Industries and power plants can install equipment to separate carbon dioxide from other gases before it leaves the smokestack. The carbon then is compressed and shipped — usually through a pipeline — to a location where it’s injected deep underground for long-term storage.

Carbon also can be captured directly from the atmosphere using giant vacuums. Once captured, it is dissolved by chemicals or trapped by solid material.

Lauren Read, a senior vice president at BKV Corp., which built a carbon capture facility in Texas, said the company injects carbon at high pressure, forcing it almost two miles below the surface and into geological formations that can hold it for thousands of years.

The carbon can be stored in deep saline or basalt formations and unmineable coal seams. But about three-fourths of captured carbon dioxide is pumped back into oil fields to build up pressure that helps extract harder-to-reach reserves — meaning it's not stored permanently, according to the International Energy Agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

How much carbon dioxide is captured?

The most commonly used technology allows facilities to capture and store around 60% of their carbon dioxide emissions during the production process. Anything above that rate is much more difficult and expensive, according to the IEA.

Some companies have forecast carbon capture rates of 90% or more, “in practice, that has never happened,” said Alexandra Shaykevich, research manager at the Environmental Integrity Project’s Oil & Gas Watch.

That's because it's difficult to capture carbon dioxide from every point where it's emitted, said Grant Hauber, a strategic adviser on energy and financial markets at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

Environmentalists also cite potential problems keeping it in the ground. For example, last year, agribusiness company Archer-Daniels-Midland discovered a leak about a mile underground at its Illinois carbon capture and storage site, prompting the state legislature this year to ban carbon sequestration above or below the Mahomet Aquifer, an important source of drinking water for about a million people.

Carbon capture can be used to help reduce emissions from hard-to-abate industries like cement and steel, but many environmentalists contend it's less helpful when it extends the use of coal, oil and gas.

A 2021 study also found the carbon capture process emits significant amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that’s shorter-lived than carbon dioxide but traps over 80 times more heat. That happens through leaks when the gas is brought to the surface and transported to plants.

About 45 carbon-capture facilities operated on a commercial scale last year, capturing a combined 50 million metric tons of carbon dioxide — a tiny fraction of the 37.8 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector alone, according to the IEA.

It's an even smaller share of all greenhouse gas emissions, which amounted to 53 gigatonnes for 2023, according to the latest report from the European Commission’s Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis says one of the world's largest carbon capture utilization and storage projects, ExxonMobil’s Shute Creek facility in Wyoming, captures only about half its carbon dioxide, and most of that is sold to oil and gas companies to pump back into oil fields.

Future of US tax credits is unclear

Even so, carbon capture is an important tool to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, particularly in heavy industries, said Sangeet Nepal, a technology specialist at the Carbon Capture Coalition.

“It’s not a substitution for renewables ... it’s just a complementary technology,” Nepal said. “It’s one piece of a puzzle in this broad fight against the climate change.”

Experts say many projects, including proposed ammonia and hydrogen plants on the U.S. Gulf Coast, likely won't be built without the tax credits, which Carbon Capture Coalition Executive Director Jessie Stolark says already have driven significant investment and are crucial U.S. global competitiveness.

Houston renewable fuel company expands reach with latest acquisition

fueling up

Houston-based Freedom CNG, a provider and distributor of compressed renewable natural gas, has acquired ComTech Energy, a Canada-based provider of on-site mobile refueling for compressed renewable natural gas. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed.

The acquisition allows Freedom CNG to adopt a hub-and-spoke operational model, allowing customers to move away from fixed fueling infrastructure with low-carbon energy solutions across North America, according to a news release.

In conjunction with the deal, ComTech President James Ro has joined Freedom CNG as chief commercial and strategy officer.

“As we expand our footprint in low‑carbon fuel solutions, acquiring ComTech Energy marks an important step in enhancing our ability to deliver efficient, innovative fueling infrastructure,” Nick Kurtenbach, president and chief financial officer of Freedom CNG, said in the release. The acquisition, he added, “allows us to offer a more comprehensive suite of solutions that support the transition to cleaner energy and meet the evolving needs of our customers.”

Freedom CNG’s North American footprint now spans more than 25 fueling stations for compressed renewable natural gas and over 60 operations and maintenance sites across the U.S. and Canada.

This is the third acquisition for Freedom CNG in the last two months. It also recently acquired Colorado-based X3 CNG and Utah-based Lancer Energy, according to a representative from Freedom CNG, this summer. The company services regional trucks, buses and service vehicles, as well as heavy construction, agriculture, data centers and other sectors.

Last year, funds affiliated with alternative asset manager Apollo bought a majority stake in Freedom CNG, which was founded in 2012. The value of the deal wasn’t disclosed.

“Freedom has developed a strong portfolio of [renewable natural gas] fueling stations with meaningful growth potential driven by established relationships with blue-chip customers and attractive new development opportunities,” Apollo partner Scott Browning said in 2024.