Europe’s fuel distributors have an important role to play in tackling the major climate challenges which the EU is currently facing: reduction of CO₂ emissions, security of supply, energy efficiency and the competitiveness of Europe’s industry.

Liquid energy sources will play a fundamental role in the EU’s energy transition, especially in parts of the transport sector (e.g. air traffic, shipping, long-distance road haulage) and in the chemicals industry where liquid energy sources and raw materials are difficult or impossible to replace. In other areas that are currently largely supplied with liquid energy sources, including passenger car traffic and the heating sector, competition will arise between GHG-neutral liquid energy sources and other systems (for example, electricity-based systems). Generated exclusively with renewable energy, e-fuels combined with highly efficient internal combustion engines will significantly support the transition of the transport sector.

Through continued research & development, the EU’s transport and heating sectors will benefit from the availability of renewable fuels. Along with increased energy efficiency of heating systems and further development of hybrid systems, new fuel technologies such as power-to-liquid will make it possible to produce GHG-neutral liquid energy sources from renewable electricity or biomass at a competitive price compared to electricity-based solutions. Power-to-liquid energy sources and raw materials can be processed, stored, transported and used in the same way as today’s liquid energy sources and have significantly lower domestic infrastructure requirements than electrification.