New Report Charts a Future with BioLPG

(Biofuels International) A Liquid Gas UK (LGUK) report has outlined the route to decarbonising non-domestic off-grid businesses using bioLPG. The report found that LPG and bioLPG have the potential to replace one third of all the coal and oil currently used to heat non-domestic buildings as well as for industrial processing, saving 3.5million tones of CO2 - equivalent of taking over 240,000 cars off the road.

George Webb, CEO, Liquid Gas UK, said: “It is clear that the UK will need to tackle industrial and commercial emissions to meet net-zero in time for 2050. The Government should ensure that all fuel switching opportunities are taken by developing policy that recognises the range of low-carbon technologies that will be needed.”

The report by the trade association for the LPG industry in the UK highlighted how there were an estimated 62,000 non-domestic buildings off the gas grid that are being heated by oil, coal or LPG.

These fuels are used across industries such as commercial, agricultural and industry and are also used across a variety of applications including industrial processing, food and drink production and crop drying. READ MORE Download report

Excerpt from EMS NOW: Historically, manufacturing has been difficult to electrify due to the long lifetime of industrial facilities, resulting in high technology swapping costs, especially for those with recent infrastructure upgrades. The report explores the option of hydrogen as a potential solution to the decarbonisation of industrial energy consumption that cannot be electrified – such as for the production of steel and cement. However, green hydrogen production is currently low, and supply is expected to initially be concentrated around particular demand hubs. Here, LPG and bioLPG could play a role as a flexible, easily storable and transportable biofuel. There is also a strong opportunity for LPG and bioLPG in the sub-sectors of manufacturing, particularly for off-road mobile machinery such as in food vans where a versatile and portable fuel is required.

The report explored a range of options toward decarbonising off-grid non-domestic buildings and found that 100% electrification through heat pumps was not a credible option for off-grid buildings as around half (48%) of all non-domestic retail businesses were built before 1919 and lacked thermal insulation to ensure sufficient heating.

The report found that the key industrial sectors where LPG and bioLPG could be deployed is in food & drink manufacturing, iron and steel production and non-metallic mineral production. READ MORE