Global view in the pipeline at industry research meeting

Jemena Gas Distribution Engineer Tom Amrein is off to Edinburgh, Scotland, in June as a recipient of an Australian Pipelines and Gas Association (APGA) scholarship to attend a Joint Technical Meeting held by the Future Fuels Cooperative Research Centre (CRC).

APGA is the peak body representing Australasia’s pipeline infrastructure and every two years, it holds a Joint Technical Meeting with the world’s leading pipeline research organisations – the US-based Pipeline Research Council International and the European Pipeline Research Group – as part of a broader working relationship. 

The Joint Technical Meeting enables attendees to share best-practice in regards to safety and efficiencies in pipeline management, as well as discuss issues and determine future research priorities for the industry.

Tom, who has worked at Jemena for seven years, is excited to have the opportunity to see what the rest of the world is doing around high-pressure pipeline management.

“My main interest is around the way pipelines are constructed, especially in terms of welding, and whether there are any insights into what will need to change to enable more renewable gases like hydrogen through pipelines in the future. 

“These learnings will have implications for our business as we position our pipeline infrastructure to enable more hydrogen as we work towards decarbonising Jemena’s gas network in Australia,” he said.

Tom applied for the APGA scholarship to attend the meeting after being nominated by his leaders at Jemena and said he was interested in research that would help facilitate the advancement of renewable gas in the near future.

“The CRC helps member organisations align on goals to ensure the pipeline infrastructure industry is ready for our net-zero emission future. I’m excited to learn more from industry leaders and colleagues around the world in June and thankful to have the opportunity to attend,” he said.