Charles van Dyck, Smart Metering product manager at Apator, shared insights on the progress of smart gas metering deployment in Europe during a conversation at Enlit Europe. He highlighted the completion of rollouts in some Western European countries and the initiation of mass deployments in Germany and Spain. Van Dyck emphasized that the focus has shifted from cost-benefit analysis to determining the timing of deployment due to the evolving landscape and the challenge of recognizing unknown benefits. He also acknowledged the negative press surrounding gas as a fossil fuel but mentioned that the future gas network would include biomethane and hydrogen to reduce the CO2 footprint. Van Dyck discussed challenges in smart gas metering, particularly the need to ensure a long battery lifetime in the field through careful use cases and communication standard choices. Looking ahead, he expressed optimism about the feasibility of blending hydrogen up to 23% in gas networks, although achieving 100% hydrogen in residential networks poses significant difficulties, including production volume challenges. The conversation highlighted the potential evolution of gas networks towards a future that integrates hydrogen while addressing current challenges in smart gas metering.