Liquid fuels will be part of the decarbonised heating

On 11 and 12 October, policy experts and key stakeholders from across Europe participated in a Technical Workshop and a Policy Workshop organised by Eurofuel to exchange on the role of renewable liquid fuels in the decarbonisation of the European heating sector.

The Technical Workshop was the occasion to exchange on the compatibility – and potential technical challenges – between low carbon and renewable liquid fuels and existing and future boilers. Experts were unanimous, and Martin Müller summarised it well: “there is no unsolvable technical challenge for the introduction of future fuels in heating applications – we can start NOW”. Hybrid heating (the “best of two worlds” according to Raphael Lang from Bosch) is also viewed as a future-proof option which offers flexibility to consumers. With such enthusiasm from manufacturers, and the surveys which show the willingness of consumers to switch to low carbon and renewable liquid fuels, participants could only conclude that the EU Field Tests had been a valuable demonstration that there is a future for liquid heating fuels.

IMG 0507

During the vibrant policy debate, the participants provided real-life examples of the role of liquid fuels in contributing to the energy transition and showcased how low carbon solutions are being progressively integrated in heating solutions.

nh12

One of the focus of the discussion was on the availability of renewable liquid fuels for the heating sector and the importance of transitioning – providing solutions that can be implemented in today’s heating systems, without needing large investments at moment where consumers can even less afford it. Several speakers pointed out that sustainable liquid heating fuels are already available on the market and are essential to decarbonise existing combustion heating systems. In particular, Eric Layli, President of FF3C – the French association representing the off-grid energy distributors - highlighted that current boilers are already prepared for a green fuel future with no major adaptation required to integrate renewable liquid fuels, while Mr. Martin Kuhn, Product Manager at Viessmann Group – a German developer of integrated climate and energy solutions - pointed towards hybridization as the solution to reduce stress on the grid and efficiently combine decarbonised liquid heating solutions with heat pumps.

At the same time, it was recognised by all that a clear a stable policy framework is needed to bring forth the potential of renewable liquid fuels as enabler of a secure and just energy transition towards climate neutrality. To this end, several options were highlighted, from blending obligations that would enable sustainable fuels in the heating sector, to ensuring that current legislative proposals under the Fit for 55 package maintain the proper incentives and guarantees for investments in the technological development of all energy technologies aiming at closing the CO2 loop. 

nh3

As President of Eurofuel, Moritz Bellingen, concluded: “to fulfil the 2050 goals and build a global and reliable independent energy supply system we need to fight with every technology and every sustainable energy source available to us, and the liquid fuel sector is ready to contribute”.

 

-------------------------------------

The presentations from the Technical Workshop are available here

The presentations from the Policy Conference are available here