Renewable Natural Gas Explained

Title:  RNG ProductionRNG Master - Re Make (without Service lady) with extra duane subs

Duration: 3:13 minutes

Description: 

This video explains how renewable natural gas is made from cow manure and other organic waste. 

RNG ProductionRNG Master - Re Make (without Service lady) with extra duane subs Transcript

[Background music plays]

Shell brand mnemonic played slowly on strings, transitioning to country-style instrumental music played on strings.

Section header

[Video footage]

The opening shot establishes we are at a Shell RNG Service station. We clearly see “Shell CNG Renewable” branding on a pump, cutting to close-up footage of the wheels of a fuel tanker as it passes the shot.

[Video footage]

Whip zoom in on Duane, our hero, tall, and dressed in smart, crisp clothes. We see the tanker at the fuel pump in the background. Duane speaks directly into the camera, gesturing as he speaks.

Duane

Hey! I’ve got something amazing to tell you. Shell is using cows to drive trucks!

[Animated sequence]

Next, we cut to a cow behind the steering wheel in the interior of a truck cab as it speeds along.

[Audio]

Cartoon-like country jingle plays, as though from the cab of the truck. Cow moos.

[Video footage]

Back at the service station, we pull back on Duane, continuing to speak into the camera and gesturing.

Duane

No. I don’t mean they hand them keys. Their manure is energy. It’s used to make RNG, Renewable Natural Gas. Farmers know it, like Greg. He’s telling everyone.

[Audio]

Cow moos.

[Video footage]

A cow in a pen at a dairy farm moos. Greg, the dairy farmer, walks past the pens in boots and jeans. We track in on Greg with cows in pens on either side of him as he addresses the camera.

Farmer Greg

We're excited to be partnered with Shell on this RNG project. We produce a lot of manure at our dairy…

[Video footage]

Greg’s boots kick at the manure. Machinery scoops up manure from the dairy-farm floor.

Farmer Greg

And we're going to turn it into renewable natural gas. How cool is that?

[Audio]

Cow moos.

[Video footage]

We cut to a corral, to a low-angle close-up of a mooing cow.

Duane

Believe it or not, just the one cow can make enough Renewable Natural Gas in a year to drive a truck over 1,200 miles.

[Video footage]

Duane leans against the fence of the corral, speaking directly into the camera. We cut to a close-up of a cow as it licks its lips.

Duane

And that’s getting truckers excited too. They’re like…

[Video footage]

Duane leans against the fence of the corral, speaking directly into the camera.

Truck driver

Mile for mile, it is cheaper than diesel…

[Video footage]

Whip pan cut to a truck driver in the interior of a truck cab. She speaks directly into the camera, her hand steering the truck through the desert. We cut to high-angle footage of her truck moving along a desert highway, approaching the camera, then cut to a close-up of the spinning front left wheel of the truck.

Truck driver

And it significantly reduces lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions.

[Video footage]

We cut to footage, as through the windscreen, of the trucker speaking into the camera.

[Audio]

Truck horn sounds.

[Video footage]

We return to footage of the truck driver, seen through the windshield, pulling the horn. As the horn blares triumphantly, we see high-angle footage of the truck thundering towards and past the camera on the desert highway.

[Video footage]

We cut back to the corral and we see Duane’s immaculate snake-skin boots in close-up as he steps gingerly over a cow pat. We cut to a close-up of the cow as it turns to look into the camera.

Duane

So what exactly is Renewable Natural Gas? Well, organic waste, like manure or even food waste, is collected up.

[Video footage]

A cow pat drops on the ground. We cut to food being scraped off a plate with a fork.

Duane

Then, it’s put inside a digester.

[Audio]

Angelic choral vocalising.

[Video footage]

Cut to an awe-inspiring low-angle shot of a huge digester.

Duane

Or, as my Scientist friend Anna likes to call it…

[Video footage]

We return to Duane addressing the camera.

Scientist Anna

A giant mechanical stomach. Here’s a really small version.

[Video footage]

We cut to a female scientist in a modern scientific laboratory. She is wearing a white coat and transparent goggles. She speaks directly into the camera. We cut to a wider-angle view as she gestures to the apparatus in front of her on the lab counter. We zoom to the brown bio waste in the beaker, further zooming right into the beaker.

Scientist Anna

Inside, millions of microorganisms are feasting their way through the organic waste. As they eat, they produce gas…

[Video footage]

We see footage of Anna looking down her microscope which is on the lab counter, alongside the beaker of brown bio waste. We see close-up imagery of a swarm of microbes feeding on the mixture. We cut to Anna addressing the camera.

Scientist Anna

Which is filtered, and collected here…

[Video footage]

We see low-angle footage of Anna pointing to the tubing and beaker of blue fluid. The camera pans over to a plastic bag at the end of the tubing that Anna gestures towards.

Scientist Anna

To make pure Natural Gas.

[Video footage]

We cut to Anna placing a lit wooden splint over a Bunsen Burner, which produces a blue flame when lit.

Duane

And what’s really cool is that it’s just like the natural gas that comes out of your pipes at home, except this stuff comes from cows!

[Video footage]

Whip pan to Duane leaning on the corral fence, continuing his story as he speaks into the camera.

[Audio]

Cow moos.

[Video footage]

Close-up of a cow in the corral, mooing.

Duane

You see, Shell is investing in all kinds of alternative energy sources. And now, they’re busy building Renewable Natural Gas facilities…

[Video footage]

We return to Duane leaning on the corral fence, speaking into the camera.

Duane

Like the one in Oregon.

[Video footage]

Whip pan to Shell’s Junction City biomethane facility.

Worker 1

We make enough Renewable Natural Gas in one year to drive a truck…

[Video footage]

We cut to a worker, wearing full PPE, speaking into the camera while turning a valve wheel at the plant.

Worker 2

From San Francisco to New York City…

[Video footage]

We cut to a another worker at the plant, wearing full PPE, speaking into the camera.

Worker 3

Over ten thousand times.

[Video footage]

We cut to a third worker at the plant, wearing full PPE, speaking into the camera.

[Audio]

Cow moos.

[Video footage]

We cut back to the corral. A cow passes behind a coffee machine as it makes his way back to the corral.

Duane

That’s pretty cool, eh? So let’s be clear. Converting to cleaner-burning energy is a smart choice.

[Video footage]

Duane enters at frame-left and makes his way to the coffee machine next to the coral. We cut to close-up footage as he selects his coffee on the buttons. We see the label, Cowfee, and on the buttons, Cow-paccino, Moo-chiato, A-moo-ricano, and De-cowfinated. He presses on A-moo-ricano.

Duane

From production to combustion, RNG prevents emissions from organic waste. And it’s an alternative fuel from Shell that’s right here and now.

[Video footage]

We cut to close-up footage of Duane speaking into the camera, then to footage of him turning away from the coffee machine to speak into the camera. We see Duane react with self-congratulation at solving the conundrum.

Duane

And as for refuelling, it’s like any other truck. Pull up, hook up, fill up. And that C in the logo? That stands for Compressed Renewable Natural Gas. There’s enough in the tanks on that baby to drive over 600 miles using proven reliable technology.

[Video footage]

Whip pan cut to forecourt. Duane, still carrying his coffee, walks past a tanker refuelling with RNG as he addresses the camera. A series of shots show a tanker pulling up, a fuel nozzle being connected, and pressure gauges responding. Cut to a close-up of “Shell CNG Renewable” signage on the forecourt. Cut to Duane speaking into the camera, then pointing over his shoulder towards the truck at the pumps. We see Duane throw a glance then point over to his right. 

Duane

Shell is putting waste to work while lowering cost and emissions. Now, that sounds like powering progress to me.

[Audio]

Door slams, engine starts then purrs.

[Video footage]

Duane speaks over his shoulder into the camera as he walks towards the front of the truck at the service station, and opens the door of the cab.

[Video footage]

We see Duane climbing into the cab. We see a series of quick cut shots – an exterior shot of the cab door closing, close-up of keys being turned in the ignition, close-up of snake-skin boots and a foot pressing down the accelerator. We see a front-view shot of the Truck pulling out of the service station.

Voiceover

To learn more, just reach out to the RNG Team.

[Video footage]

We see a series of shots of the truck crossing the desert - a high-angle shot of the truck travelling away from the camera, then front-view footage of the truck approaching in close-up.

Duane

Woo-Mooo!

[Video footage]

We see footage from behind of the truck passing the shot, then powering away from camera and across the desert. We cut to a closer view of the back of the truck as it crosses the desert, which reveals the words, “This truck is powered by cows.”  

[Graphic]

Over the video footage just described, text displays just below frame-centre, followed by the Shell Pecten displaying in upper frame and copyright text displaying at bottom of frame.

[Text displays]

Shell.com/biofuels

© Shell International Limited 2022

[Audio]

Shell brand mnemonic played on keys