A nudge is all it takes
As this year’s YPPC nears its deadline, we hear from 2024 winner Phillip Shortt, who reflects on his experience and shares the insights he gained at the World Gas Conference in Beijing.
As a young engineer in the gas industry, it’s easy to get struck with a specific kind of “imposter syndrome” if you’ve been about for a while. You see your more senior peers with decades of experience and wonder if you yourself can ever operate at the same level they do. For a while I kept my head down, stayed in my lane and focused on the day to day, until a chance came up to work on something that would change everything and somehow would lead me to Beijing.
Truth be told I wasn’t intending on entering the YPPC initially. It took a conversation with a very trusted peer who saw the potential in my work to convince me that perhaps, I might actually do well.
The initial nudge was exactly what I needed, and the application process was simple. A 250-word summary of the topic or problem you were involved in, where the biggest issue was capping it. Putting together the presentation I knew it had to be interpretable by a wide audience, and I needed to keep it simple. Diagrams, pictures, animations and above all simple language and speech help to engage the audience.
As I sat in the final at IGEM offices in Kegworth waiting to give my presentation one thing struck me. The quality of the entries was extremely high. Presentations on innovative projects on hydrogen and improving safety demonstrated the amazing work being done by many young people in the industry. Shocked and as much as I may have disagreed, the judges felt I gave the presentation of the day... and I was now going to the World Gas Conference in Beijing.
From Belfast to Beijing
Winning the YPPC allowed me the opportunity to travel in China, a fascinating, beautiful country with rich culture and history. Flying out two weeks ahead of the conference I visited Hong Kong, a beautiful modern city that marries the contemporary and the traditional. Wandering through the narrow streets below bamboo scaffolding in search of good food the pace was still surprisingly relaxed for such a mega city, with the food leaving a lasting impression.
I then took a ride on one of China’s magnificent bullet trains into mainland China to Guilin, a city surrounded by jagged peaks covered in lush greenery. I stayed in a local run hostel, taking a bamboo boat down the Li River in the sun, sampled some local rice wine in a cave, shared a traditional dinner with the locals in the back room of a “rather rustic” restaurant.
Next, I hunkered down on some sleeper trains and ended up in other worldly Zhangjiajie National Park. You realise immediately upon arrival why James Cameron used the aesthetic of the place as Pandora in Avatar. It’s vast landscape of vertical quartz-sandstone pillars and softly rolling clouds that engulf the canopy below. Put simply it is one of the most shatteringly beautiful places I’ve ever been.
Onto Beijing, of course you can’t miss the Great Wall, even if hiking up in the 35-degree heat nearly kills you. The Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven amongst other landmarks serve to highlight the antiquity of this city dating back millennia. And let’s not forget the deliciously fatty goodness that is Peking duck.
The World Gas Conference
But the real reason I’m in Beijing is not about the past, but the future. More specifically of the natural gas industry. I think it’s fair to say that arriving at the World Gas Conference my view of the industry was largely UK centric. My perspective was skewed towards our energy transition ambitions, primarily focusing on hydrogen, biogases and blends, but at the WGC, you realise that is the small piece of a much larger puzzle for the world net zero ambitions.
One of the biggest takeaways for me was the introduction to the phrase and concept of “The Global Energy Trilemma”, which was the core theme running throughout the conference. This focused on the balance of security, affordability and sustainability of energy, and natural gas’ role in the wider energy sphere. A key thought was about trying to make supply of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) a reliable and cheap option to developing nations, currently dispatching power via coal fired generation, and the huge environmental benefits this could bring should a switch to natural gas be realised. Talking, sharing dinner with and socialising with other delegates whilst discussing the challenges was extremely thought provoking and self-assuring.
A particular highlight of the conference was the technical visit to the Beijing Gas Xiji Station. This facility was comprised of one of Beijing’s “city gate” stations feeding the sprawling city of over 21 million people, coupled with an LNG peak shaving plant. It was particularly interesting to see how the plant dealt with LNG “boil-off” and the re-gasification providing much needed extra capacity and stability in the cold winter months.
Added to that the many seminars on topics like biomethane, the future of underground energy storage and the role of renewable gases in the hydrogen transition, helped to bring the focus back home, providing some good thinking and talking points to bring with me.
A final word of advice
Trust the nudge. Listen to that feeling. The competition is a great way to challenge yourself, to make yourself heard, and to showcase your ability. You will absolutely develop your presentation skills, and maybe you’ll win one of some fantastic prizes. Whether that takes you to a world capital or just boosts your confidence that you know your stuff... that’s a win-win for me. Give it a shot, you might surprise yourself. I did.
Interested in learning more and potentially entering?
Click the link below to learn more and read the frequenlty asked questions.