R&D for City Gas Use
2007 Environment Friendly City Gas
City Gas in Japan 2007
Feedstock
Environmentally Friendly City Gas
Production and Distribution
Safety Measures .
Residential Use
Industrial and Commercial Use
Gas Cooling and Heating
Gas Cogeneration System
Natural Gas Vehicles
R&D for City Gas Use
International Relations
Environmental Preservation and Recycling Measures
Relationship with the Local Community
 

R&D continues to improve the convenience of city gas appliances, ensuring customer safety and contributing to environmental protection. On a broader level, a variety of projects are underway to develop city gas technologies enabling more rational, integrated use of energy. These include projects to research and develop residential cogeneration systems using fuel cells and technology for utilizing renewable energy such as solar power.

To reinforce the city gas business base, gas utilities are working hard to conduct research and development of substitute natural gas technology, next-generation technology for improving pipeline safety, and next-generation highly-reliable gas sensor technology.
　
･ Developing technology for low-carbon society
Upgrading of distributed energy technology
　
･ Developing technology to strengthen natural gas supply base
Promotion of environmental preservation and energy saving
 
　
Gas burner with improved safety and energy economy 　
Low NOx emission burner 　 Hydrogen station
Low NOx
emission burner		 　 Hydrogen station
High-efficiency cogeneration systems with natural gas engines 　 LNG vehicle
High-efficiency cogeneration systems with natural gas engines 　 LNG vehicle
Gas burner with improved safety and energy economy
Stationary fuel cell cogeneration system
SResidential fuel cell system
　
Gas insights
･ Methane hydrate, natural gas hydrate (NGH), and substitute natural gas (SNG) from coal are attracting much attention as new resources for the stable supply of city gas.
(1) Methane hydrate
Methane hydrate is a solid form of water that contains a large amount of methane within its crystal structure and is called "burning ice." Deposits are found in the lower layers of permafrost and in deep-sea ocean beds at depths of a few hundred meters. In the seas surrounding Japan, it is estimated that there are sufficient reserves to provide approximately a centuryﾕs worth of the countryﾕs natural gas requirements.
(2) Natural gas hydrate (NGH)
While methane hydrate is a promising resource, NGH is an attractive transportation medium. Currently, most natural gas is transported in the liquid state (LNG), but there is an estimation that transportation as NGH is less expensive for short distances. The resulting higher profitability may enable the development of small and medium-size natural gas fields in Southeast Asia.
(3) Substitute natural gas (SNG) from coal
While high-quality coal is used for thermal power plants or iron manufacturing factories, low-quality coal is currently unsuitable due to various reasons. Research is under way to produce natural gas from low-quality coal while recovering CO2 with the latest technologies.		 　
Burning methane hydrate (artificial)
Burning methane hydrate (artificial)