Debating the Impact of Artificial Intelligence and Hydrogen in LNG operations

The last day of the Executive Programme of the 21st International Conference and Exhibition on Liquified Natural Gas (LNG2026) came to an end with two parallel Spotlight Sessions moderated by the International Gas Union (IGU): The Catalyst for Hydrogen and Ammoniaand Digital Transformation in the LNG Industry.

Moderated by IGU’s Director for Strategy and Advocacy, Mr Mark McCrory, The Catalyst for Hydrogen and Ammonia panel discussed how LNG can enable a manageable introduction of hydrogen and ammonia, and explored LNG’s role in producing blue hydrogen and ammonia in conjunction with carbon capture and storage as well as the possibility to adapt the existing infrastructure for hydrogen and ammonia use.

Joining Mr McCrory for this highly relevant session were Mr Matt Spalding, Vice President and General Manager MENA, APAC, India – Honeywell; Mr Nimit M Shah, VP Global Sales, Technology Solutions - KBR Sustainable Technology Solutions; Mr Volkmar Galke, Executive Director Sales – WinGD; and Mr Ed Crooks, Vice-Chairman of Energy Americas - Wood Mackenzie.

The key takeaways from this fascinating and highly engaging session were that althoughpolicy and investment in hydrogen and ammonia have declined, the industry still continues to grow even though it does so at a slower rate than predicted. In addition, the panellists remarked that the scale discipline of the expanded LNG market offers multiple lessons that could be replicated to scale the hydrogen and ammonia use.

Moderated by IGU’s Communication Director, Mrs Ella Minty, the Digital Transformation in the LNG Industry panel debated the strategic innovations and future directions in digital transformation and how cutting-edge technologies are revolutionising the LNG industry.

Joining Mrs Minty in a complex and detailed session were Mr Bjarte Pedersen, Senior Vice President Energy Industries, IMEA Region – ABB; Mr Joshua Divin, Senior Vice President –ABS; and Mr Dominique Gadelle, Vice-President Early Engagement Gas & Low Carbon Energies Business Line - Technip Energies. 

Three key aspects emerged from this final session of LNG2026: Artificial Intelligence can bring immediate financial and operational benefits to maintenance and operations, digitalisation can be highly reliable in process safety and predictability, and human oversight will still be required for a long time to come.