Alternative fuels in transport - AEGPL's stance

© AEGPLLuckily for the LPG industry, AEGPL headquarters are in Brussels, not far from all the major EU institutions

Autogas remains the most popular alternative fuel in Europe and around the world, despite the breakthroughs and progress in the field of exploration and exploitation of natural gas from shale formations, the constantly growing range of electric cars, and even considering the fact that LPG is the byproduct of fossil methane purification processes and petroleum refining. It also has the most developed infrastructure – the network of refueling stations in Europe alone covers almost 30000 locations used by 7 million cars. We don’t need big investments here – good will among politicians and some support mechanisms are enough.

This was roughly the message sent to 450 people gathered at the conference by Samuel Maubanc, CEO at AEGPL. He stressed that the availability of CNG is not a patch on what autogas offers today, while electric cars are not high-tech enough (especially in terms of battery capacity) to become a viable alternative to cars adapted to run on gaseous fuels. Another significant thing is that the LPG industry creates thousands of jobs in Europe.

Luckily, the arguments raised by AEGPL’s representative did not fall on deaf ears. Siim Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for transport, said in his speech that alternative fuels will strengthen the European market, and that a specific strategy for the development of adequate infrastructure is essential. MEP Carlo Fidanza noted that LPG should become part of a directive that will cover dynamic implementation of oil-based fuel substitutes. Emphasis should be put on equalizing differences in the number of LPG stations in different countries. Taking the opportunity, the European LPG Association distributed their reports on the most effective ways of developing the autogas industry in the future.

It’s good to know that there are people in Brussels who support using LPG as engine fuel and they watch over its safe future as early as in the preliminary legislative work stage, at the very heart of the European bureaucratic machine.