Innovation

Our innovation, research and development leadership and partnerships are instrumental in helping us drive advancements that can bolster our long-term objective of advancing decarbonization.

The path to decarbonization requires research, development and innovation in the energy sector. Our cross-functional Fueling the Future of Innovation Council engages employees in training, ideation and other improvement challenges to creatively drive sustainability results and solve business problems. In addition to our company-led efforts, we also engage in meaningful partnerships to advance clean energy and climate technology.

3 Key Takeaways

Our Meadow Branch Landfill Methane Recovery Facility in Athens, Tennessee produced over 520,670 MMBtu of RNG in 2023, enough to serve about 3,600 Tennessee households.

Using cross compression technologies in regular maintenance procedures, we avoided the release of approximately 21,000 MMBtu of natural gas which represents over 9,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2022.

Southern Company Gas, through its affiliates Nicor Energy Ventures and Nicor Gas and subject to appropriate governmental authorizations, is exploring opportunities to support the growth of a clean hydrogen economy in the Midwest through our engagement in the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen (MachH2).

R & D Partnerships 

Southern Company Gas advances clean energy and climate technology through research and development partnerships. We’re a sponsor for the Low-Carbon Resources Initiative (LCRI), a worldwide collaboration between the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and GTI Energy, researching hydrogen technologies and applications, along with other low-carbon energy carriers. Other partnerships through Southern Company Gas and our parent company Southern Company include NYSEARCH, GTI-OTD, mHUB, HyBlend, MachH2, Energy Impact Partners, Evergreen Climate Innovations.

RNG Methane Recovery Technology: The Meadow Branch Landfill Methane Recovery Facility in Athens, Tennessee captures methane produced by the landfill and upgrades it to pipeline–quality renewable natural gas for injection into an interstate pipeline. In 2023, the facility produced over 520,670 MMBTu of RNG — enough to serve about 3,600 homes and 27,500 metric tons of CO2e emissions.

Natural Gas Heat Pumps: Gas heat pumps are highly energy-efficient heating and cooling products that help reduce GHG emissions from commercial and residential buildings. As a founding member of Energy Impact Partners, we’re helping to finance Stone Mountain Technologies, Inc. as it seeks to commercialize a new generation of highly energy-efficient heating products. We are also part of the North American Gas Heat Pump Collaborative, which is working to accelerate the adoption of technologies that support decarbonization in North America.

Leak Detection and Repair: Our proactive approach to leak detection employs advanced leak detection technologies such as drones, stationary monitors and artificial intelligence-enabled cloud computing platforms, like Urbint. We are a sponsor of GTI Energy’s Veritas effort aimed at creating technical protocols to assist in developing measurement-informed emission inventories. We voluntarily address our non-hazardous Grade 3 leaks more proactively, because of the importance of their environmental impact. Leak detection and repairs are critical to reaching net zero for operations by 2050 and to keeping our communities and team members safe.

Pursuing Hydrogen for Clean Energy

As a leader in research and development, we believe hydrogen technology provides a powerful opportunity to deliver a sustainable future that provides clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy to customers and communities, in addition to abundant economic development and growth. Hydrogen has the potential to be injected into natural gas infrastructure or delivered in dedicated pipeline infrastructure to lower greenhouse gas emissions, which is critical to abating climate change. As a sponsor of the Open Hydrogen Initiative, our subsidiary Nicor Gas is working to improve transparency and advance the development of a credible hydrogen market. Nicor Gas is a participant in a multi-state alliance of public and private entities pursuing federal funding to grow the Midwest regional hydrogen value chain and deliver positive climate and community impact.