With 1,000 participants from around the world, the 18th Pipeline Technology Conference (ptc) has been larger and more international than ever before: for the first time, the Full-Event-Ticket, which included the seminar program on Monday, was completely sold out.

The flagship global conference & exhibition took place from 8 - 11 May 2023 in Berlin, attracting 82 exhibiting companies and participants from 58 different countries. 83 pipeline operating companies sent delegations to Berlin, and one out of three participants in the capital city came from a pipeline operator.

ptc 2023 explored a range of pivotal topics for the international pipeline industry. The conference started with a keynote speech on "Energy security, decarbonization, and the clean transition: Implications for policy and infrastructure" examining international energy policies. Subsequently, key sessions focused on regional developments in the booming African pipeline market, the decarbonization of the pipeline industry, the impact of climate adaptation and geohazards on pipeline infrastructure, the future of CO2 transportation, and perspectives for the pipeline market in the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia.

However, ptc's core lies in its comprehensive technical program, encompassing more than 100 presentations across 34 technical sessions. These sessions, conducted in six concurrent tracks, provided deep insight into the latest developments and advancements in pipeline technology. All papers will again be published on an open access basis via the ptc Pipeline Open Knowledge Base.

In addition to the annual highlights of the conference and exhibition, some new themes have been added. On the eve of the conference opening, a very successful "Global Women in Pipeline" kick-off event was held for the first time. The newly setup “ptc Young Pipeliners Engagement Committee” implemented a new YPI Early Achievement Award and a YPI Emerging Young Pipeline Professional Award. Moreover, ptc introduced the best paper award for young pipeliners, dedicated to the former president of the EITEP Institute and founder of the ptc, Dr. Klaus Ritter. 20% of the received conference papers qualified as a young pipeliner contribution. Furthermore, a dedicated forum was set up in the exhibition, where exhibiting companies were able to present their new technologies in a special "Technology Updates" area.

Planning for the upcoming event is already underway. The 19th Pipeline Technology Conference will take place in Berlin from 8 - 11 April 2024. The Call for Papers and exhibitor registration will be open by mid-June.