Why do we need liquid heating fuels for the energy transition?
Every Friday over the course of 5 weeks, Eurofuel will present the "Future Fuels" in the framework of the EU Sustainable Energy Days.
By 2050, we need to decarbonise heating.
Liquid fuels can contribute to the energy transition for heating and ensure and inclusive recovery. They are a sustainable and affordable alternative for households located in off-grid areas (17% Europeans). The campaign will present the following topics:
1. Liquid fuels for heating: why we need them even more for the energy transition (10 September 2021)
2. What are they (FAME, HVO, PtX)? (17 September 2021)
3. How sustainable are they? (24 September 2021)
4. The liquid heating fuel industry and boilers manufacturers have tested the solution - how does it work? (1 October 2021)
5. What will the sector look like in 2050? (8 October 2021)
#FutureFuelsFriday – part 1
Liquid fuels for heating: why we need them even more for the energy transition
Liquid fuels have an important number of advantages when it comes to heating our homes, particularly in rural and remote areas not connected to the grids - 20 million households in Europe use these fuels.
Liquid heating fuels are easy to store and easy to transport, they have a high energy density, which means they are very efficient, and they have an excellent supply infrastructure.
In modern oil-fired condensing boilers, almost all the energy is converted into heat, which means they can have an efficiency of almost 98%. Condensing boilers offer opportunities for further simple efficiency improvements through the integration of other technologies into the in-house heating system – that’s what we call hybrid systems. Finally, low carbon and renewable liquid fuels can be used in modern condensing boilers without the need for major alterations.
Indeed, liquid fuels are not confined to conventional fossil fuels like heating oil.
Low-carbon liquid fuels are sustainable liquid fuels from non-petroleum origin, with no or very limited net CO2 emissions during their production and use compared to fossil-based fuels. They have a strategic role to play in the transition to a climate-neutral economy.
They are drop in products, meaning that they can be easily and progressively incorporated to conventional fuels without any major investment to change the heating system: they can already be used in today´s available heating technology! They will first be blended with conventional heating oil, to progressively replace it.