A Sustainable Energy Mix for Europe: The Answers Are Out There*
By Henry Cubbon | Managing Director, DCC LPG
In the long, dark fight against climate change, there is a bright future for a convenient, abundant, affordable and mobile energy source known as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
As the Managing Director at DCC LPG I know that switching from heavier fuels to a clean burning fuel like LPG, is by far the quickest and most affordable step towards reducing CO2 emissions. Independent research has shown, for instance, that using LPG instead of heating oil reduces CO2 output by up to 20%. Compared to burning coal, LPG brings emissions down by as much as 50%.
BioLPG will of course get us there even quicker, reducing carbon emissions by up to 90%. BioLPG is produced from sustainable feedstocks, and maybe one day from green hydrogen and CO2. It can even be dropped into existing infrastructure. Being identical to the LPG our customers have always been using, they don’t need to spend any money changing their fuel-infrastructure and appliances for a bioLPG option.
Later this month I’ll be talking more about how lower carbon gaseous fuels will lead to a sustainable future for Europe. At the three-day European LPG e-Congress, on the part played by LPG in Europe’s ambitious Green Deal, I want to hear how industry can adapt to the challenge of bringing greenhouse gas emissions 55% below 1990 levels before the end of this decade.
At DCC we are already working to make sure this ambitious target is met. In the area of oil to LPG conversions alone, DCC has already helped customers reduce their carbon emissions by more than 20%. We are now scaling up beyond industrial and commercial operations, to residential energy customers.
We are leading by example, through the installation of solar panels in our own healthcare manufacturing facilities, putting biofuel in our trucks, and recycling mobile phones in our technology division.
DCC also already offers bioLPG to customers who want a net zero solution today. Today this comes at a premium compared to conventional LPG, thanks to higher production and logistics costs. But as more bioLPG gets produced, production costs will come down. And as certification gets smarter, logistics costs will decrease.
As a transport fuel, LPG reduces NOx by 68%, compared with gasoline, and by a staggering 96% when compared with diesel – at the same time as virtually eliminating all particulate matter.
DCC - as a leading LPG distributor - plays an important role in the fight against climate change, through our successful Oil-to-LPG offer. This means that off-grid customers are helped to reduce their carbon footprint by switching from oil to much cleaner burning LPG for their heating and cooking needs.
I am now calling on the European Commission and on policy makers across the globe to recognise LPG, bioLPG and other related biogases for their merits. Help us to shine a light in that bright future.
Henry Cubbon is Managing Director of DCC’s LPG division.
DCC LPG is a leading LPG sales and marketing business with operations in Europe, Asia and the US, and a developing business in the retailing of natural gas and electricity.
The European LPG e-Congress will be held on 28, 29 and 30 September 2021, for more details visit www.liquidgaseurope.eu/lge-e-congress
*Figures quoted as supplied by DCC LPG.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the position of Liquid Gas Europe.
