About

In 2015, Stanford University launched a campus-wide Natural Gas Initiative to examine the multifaceted questions raised by the tremendous growth in natural gas production. Below are some of the areas of interest that faculty and researchers focused on:

• Improving the efficiency of shale-gas extraction
• Optimizing the benefits of using natural gas (methane) in manufacturing, transportation, electric power generation, and the production of industrial chemicals and fuels. 
• Studying ways to minimize the impacts of the natural gas industry on air and water pollution, and prevent fugitive emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. 
• Exploring the economic and geopolitical implications of the shale-gas boom, as well as best practices for U.S. regulators. Researchers are also assessing optimal ways to integrate natural gas with renewable energy sources for electricity generation, and the potential of methane hydrates as an energy source.

Today the Stanford Natural Gas Initiative has grown to include more than 40 research groups at Stanford University drawn from engineering, science, policy, geopolitical, and business disciplines that work with a consortium of industry partners and other external stakeholders to generate the knowledge needed to use natural gas to its greatest social, economic, and environmental benefit. 

The Natural Gas Initiative welcomes new participants in our research and new members to our consortium.