Natural gas is supposed to the transition fuel in the global journey towards Net Zero.
It emits much less CO2 compared to liquid or solid fossil fuels, is available in many countries and in many forms (CNG, LNG), and infrastructure for distribution and use of NG is also available in many countries including India.
But I see hardly any startups in India in the natural gas sector, except for the renewable natural gas or compressed natural gas as it is known in India - a fuel derived from the upgradation of biogas through CO2 removal.
Well, a key reason could be that most components of the natural gas value chain are already dominated by the corporate big boys, including downstream solutions such as CNG automobiles or CNG based domestic and industrial heating, or natural gas based chemicals.
So, is it curtains for startups in the conventional natural gas sector?
Not necessarily. Any startup interested would need to do a thorough strategic analyses of the value chain to identify components where startup innovation can play a role.
I can think of at least one area where startups are already playing a role - and that is in terms of offering solutions to minimize or eliminate the fugitive emissions and flare offs.
Those interested can check out the following startups: SEEkops, MIRICO, MethaneSAT, GHGSAT, Longpath, Arolytics
