Chickens & Eggs: Euro-policies on Alternative Fuel & NGV Infrastructures

An Interview with Dr. Franz-Xavier Soeldner

24 November 2011

The European Commission has been working with alternative fuel stakeholders to understand and assess the various elements and actions that will lead to sustainable markets for alternative fuel and vehicle technologies. The results of their work will culminate in new policy initiatives for alternative fuels and natural gas vehicles.

Dr. Franz-Xavier Soeldner, the Deputy Head of Unit Clean Transport & Urban Transport at the Directorate General for Transportation (DG Tren) has been directly involved in alternative fuel policymaking for over a decade. In 2010-2011 Dr. Soeldner lead alternative fuel stakeholders in the Future Transport Fuels Expert Group, whose work is evolving into a European Alternative Fuels Policy.    He co-authored the 2003 report on Market Development of Alternative Fuels that said NGVs could replace 10% of petroleum fuels in the European transport sector by 2020.

Dr. Soeldner is the keynote speaker at the Clean Fuels Consulting Critical Issues Workshop, Chickens & Eggs: Opportunities, Challenges & Strategies Building the NGV Infrastructure on 7-8 December 2011 in Brussels.  (Seewww.ChickensandEggs.eu)   Recently he spoke to Jeffrey Seisler, CEO of Clean Fuels Consulting about the European Commission’s developing policies for alternative fuels, and specifically about the development of the NGV infrastructure. Comment:Visions is media partner to the event.

Clean Fuels Consulting: The Commission is considering creating a separate legislative proposal on alternative fuel infrastructure requirements in order to facilitate and actively stimulate market development of alternative fuels.  This is part of a new, comprehensive alternative transport fuel strategy, the Clean Transport Systems (CTS) initiative that is being prepared for launch in the first quarter of 2012.  Can you provide any details about the potential substance of this initiative?  What types of ‘stimuli’ do you foresee being included in such legislation?

Dr. Soeldner: The Clean Transport Systems (CTS) package for a sustainable alternative fuels strategy including also the appropriate infrastructure should discuss, in a Commission Communication the main alternative fuel solutions for the different transport modes. The Communication could be accompanied by a separate legislative proposal on the build-up of alternative fuel infrastructure. This should ensure coordinated action in the EU.

Clean Fuels Consulting: Some of the recent transportation and energy initiatives of the European Commission have been focused on electric vehicles.  Will this new CTS initiative be picking ‘fuel favorites’ or will it be ‘fuel and technology neutral’?

Dr. Soeldner: One of the main conclusions of the Future Transport Fuels Expert Group, advising the EC on the Alternative Fuels Strategy is that “policy and regulation should be technology neutral, founded on a scientific assessment of the well-to-wheels GHG (green house gas) emissions associated with competing transport pathways and the relevant life cycle aspects”.

Electricity as a power source for vehicle propulsion allows a radical change in energy supply to transport, from fossil fuels to a universal energy carrier which can be produced from all primary energy sources. Along with the expected decarbonisation of the EU power generation mix, electricity could efficiently contribute to decrease the CO2 emissions of the transport sector.

But electricity is only one of the alternative fuel options among others to be considered, since it could only power short distances in road transport and rail transport.

According to the 1st report of the expert group (January 2011), alternative fuel options for substituting oil as energy source for propulsion in transport are:

• Electricity/hydrogen, and biofuels (liquids) as the main options
• Synthetic fuels as a technology bridge from fossil to biomass based fuels
• Methane (natural gas and biomethane) as complementary fuels
• LPG as supplement

Clean Fuels Consulting: The Renewable Energy Directive (RED) targets 10% replacement of petroleum fuels with biofuels by 2020.  But many people see that the focus of this legislation being on liquid renewable fuels.  Some gas advocates say that, apart from the fact that fuels from waste are given a double counting benefit, which benefits biogas, liquid fuels seem to be benefiting at the expense of biogas.  What do you think of this view?

Dr. Soeldner: The Renewable Energy Directive does not specify any replacement fuel. It establishes mandatory targets to be achieved by 2020 for a 10% share for renewable energy in the road transport sector. Not only biofuels but all forms of energy from renewable sources can contribute to this target, including biofuels – liquid or gaseous – and electricity or hydrogen produced from renewable sources. Full flexibility on the fuel options is left to Member States, who, on the other hand, had to report their Action Plans to the Commission.

Member States in the National Renewable Energy Action Plans estimate the contribution of the different forms of energy towards the 10% target. The estimated share of this contribution by 2020 is 9.3-9.5% of liquid biofuels, 1.0% of electricity from renewable sources, up to 0.2% of biomethane supplied through the gas grid and 0.001% of hydrogen from renewables.

Clean Fuels Consulting: A new, landmark initiative was announced on 19^th October to use €9.1 billion from the EU’s 2014-2020 budget to help upgrade Europe’s energy infrastructures – electricity and natural gas.   Will the development of ‘bi-directional’ gas pipelines be a positive move to bring more renewable biomethane and LNG into the gas network?  Will there be any synergies between the CTS and this infrastructure initiative?

Dr. Soeldner: The proposal for a Connecting Europe Facility, covering transport, energy, and information flow in Europe with total support from Community funds of €50 billion in the next Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-20 aims at a physical integration of Europe through comprehensive networks. For natural gas, the Future Transport Fuels Expert Group and the national experts have proposed to feed biomethane produced from biomass into a single methane gas network, which in turn can serve the different users in stationary heat and power generation, and in the transport sector. Biogas, with an increasing share over time, can thereby gradually decarbonise the overall methane system.

Clean Fuels Consulting: Do you have any suggestions or insights about how the natural gas vehicle industry can overcome the ‘chicken and egg’ problem, particularly at a time when all levels of policy makers seem more focused on bringing electric vehicles into the market?

Dr. Soeldner: Methane-fuelled vehicles are already established in the road transport. Natural gas vehicles cover all types of vehicles from light to heavy duty and can be applied in short and long distance transport.

In the past, private/private partnerships between oil and gas companies have successfully built up natural gas re-fuelling infrastructure in some (European) Member States. Public support, as facilitated by the energy taxation Directive and the Environmental Guidelines for state aid has also been instrumental for installing infrastructure in some Regions. More harmonized coverage across the EU might require further public intervention.