MEPs and industry on the role of LPG

Participants stressed the importance of technology neutrality, the need to combine climate objectives with security of supply and the need to ensure stable and affordable energy prices for consumers. The role of renewable gases, such as BioLPG or biomethane, which can reduce emissions using existing infrastructure, was also highlighted. The debate showed the need to take into account in the energy transition the competitiveness of Polish entrepreneurs, who today play a very important role in the European markets of autogas systems, heating boilers or pressure vessels.

Opening the meeting, a Member of the European Parliament Tobias Bochenski welcomed participants to the European Parliament and emphasised the importance of an open, evidence-based debate on energy transition pathways. He pointed out that ensuring energy security, affordability and technological neutrality remains one of the key challenges for both the European Union and the Member States, especially in the current geopolitical and economic realities.

He opened the discussion on the merits Bartosz Kwiatkowski, CEO of POGP, who gave it a strategic context, presenting the scale and diversity of LPG use in the European Union and in Poland. He stressed that a credible energy transition must be achievable, take into account existing market realities and be based on proven, technically and economically feasible solutions. He expanded this perspective Janusz Starościk, CEO of SPIUG:

At the present stage, gas is a stabilizing factor in the supply of electricity and heat in installations using weather-dependent RES sources. Without gas as a single fuel allowing rapid reaction and fuel-powered equipment, there is no guarantee of energy security for such a system. The transition towards renewable energy sources is based on the synergy of technologies that complement each other in hybrid installations, rather than on competition between them. There is a place for both electricity produced in RES, solar energy for the generation of heat, cooling and electricity, biomass, as well as gaseous fuels, which already stabilize RES installations when they are not able to ensure the comfort of users on their own.

During the debate, the topic of predictable regulations and the maintenance of the principle of technological neutrality returned, and in particular the preservation on the market of all technologies that allow decarbonization and improvement of air quality. Ewa Gawrys-Osinska, President of POGP and President of Gaspol SA, stressed that the predictability of European gas policy is crucial for implementing innovations and undertaking investment projects in the energy sector.

Paweł Baraniuk, Vice President of AC SA, drew attention to the important role of autogas in the national economy, both in the context of employment and emission reduction, in particular in road transport. He argued that LPG-based mobility solutions have already brought tangible environmental benefits and should be considered as part of the energy transition toolkit. Polish entrepreneurs have more than 50% share in the European autogas plant market and export to more than 60 markets worldwide.

Polish companies are the most important suppliers of the pressure vessel market in the Union and produce some of the most technically advanced gas boilers on the continent. Damian Mayer, President of Termet SA, drew attention to the competence of Polish producers, far superior to Asian competitors. He also stressed the dominant role of gas technologies in improving air quality in Poland from the launch of the Clean Air program until 2025 and the technical impracticability of the concept of full electrification of heating.

The debate has raised the issue of renewable liquefied gases, such as BioLPG, which can reduce emissions without the need for costly upgrades to existing energy infrastructure. She pointed to their potential Ewa Abramiuk-Summer, Managing Director of Liquid Gas Europe. These fuels can be used in today's heating boilers and car engines without having to modify them. However, the proliferation of renewable gases requires a consistent stance on the part of the European Union, ensuring their role in the continent's energy transition.

Liquefied gas, which can also be produced from renewable raw materials, forms the basis for the development of distributed energy. It is she who guarantees energy security. — supplemented Janusz Starościk - Without equal treatment of all available technologies using RES and renewable fuels, it may be impossible to carry out the transformation of heating in a relatively short time, not to mention the social acceptance of users for such a project.

The European Commission's perspective was presented by Alexander Vigne, stressing the need to balance climate objectives with security of supply and affordability of energy. He added that LPG will be used in Europe for a long time to come, primarily in industrial applications.

At the end of the discussion, the prospects for the future of liquefied gas outlined Mateusz Kedzierski, Chairman of the Innovation and Education Committee of the POGP. He noted that the forecasts for the hydrocarbon market are gradually pushing the moment of peak consumption further and further into the future, and global LPG production continues to grow. The greatest humanitarian success of liquefied gas is the reduction in the number of people without access to clean energy for food preparation by about 800 million in the last 15 years. Mateusz Kędzierski also stressed the key role of LPG as a fuel that can be easily delivered to areas affected by natural disasters and humanitarian crises — which happened in Poland, for example, after the last flood or when creating reception points for refugees from Ukraine.

Bartosz Kwiatkowski, CEO of POGP, in response to a question about the three most important demands of the industry commented:

‍We support the Polish position on postponing the entry into force of the ETS2 system until 2030 and ensuring the predictability of CO emission costs₂. Consumers will not accept uncontrolled fluctuations in fuel prices linked to entitlement speculation. We also call for countering repeated initiatives by the Commission and certain groups in the European Parliament to eliminate gas boiler technology from the heating mix. On the other hand, the ongoing discussion on the automotive package is an opportunity to restore the broken principle of technological neutrality for the passenger car market and allow the possibility of achieving the reduction target with renewable fuels — including BioLPG.

POGP points out that LPG remains a flexible and widely available solution, common especially in rural and sparsely urbanized areas. The use of this fuel not only provides affordable energy for less affluent households, but also contributes to reducing smog in Poland. Gas technologies and hybrid installations can support a rational, cost-effective transformation and effectively complement the remaining pillars of the decarbonisation of the economy.

In his closing speech Elżbieta Lukacijewska stressed that the Union's energy policy should ensure coherence between the EU's climate ambitions and national energy choices. Energy policy taking into account national circumstances is the exclusive competence of the Member States.

The EU's energy policy should be based on the principle of technological neutrality. Under the Treaties, each Member State has the right to determine its energy mix. This means that if LPG — as well as its renewable counterparts such as BioLPG — can support a gradual transition to a climate-neutral economy, we should fully exploit this potential. - ended Elżbieta Lukacijewska.

Participants will discuss the role of LPG in the Polish economy and its place in public policy 3rd Gas Fuels Forum which will take place on 23 April this year in Warsaw.

‍

‍