Security of supply, strategic storage and Covid19: Which lessons learnt for renewable and recycled carbon fuels, and their future role in decarbonizing transport?

Abstract

The present work analyses the lessons learnt from the Covid19 (Coronavirus) pandemic that could possibly apply to the energy sector, with a special focus to decarbonizing transport. Distinguishing between short/medium- and medium/long-term options, the scope is to discuss how issues such energy security, energy storage and energy system resilience should deserve more attention. Today, fuel demand has fallen to unprecedented levels, with jet fuel demand being the most affected one. Oil price is at the lowest values recorded for many years while on 20 April it even reached a negative price in the US for the first time in history. While in the short-term low oil prices would be attractive, the long-term negative consequences could be very relevant, with significant associated costs for the EU economy and Member states (MS) related to the collapse of demand and to the socio-economic impacts. New measures should thus be considered in the post Covid19 strategy. In particular, while in a short- to medium-term view the oil sector will require specific support measures to overcome the economic and physical shock brought in by the pandemic, in a medium to long-term perspective domestic sources such as Renewable and Recycled Carbon Fuels (RRCF) should be regarded as a way to secure energy supply, leading to significant technical and economic advantages. Thus, EU should allocate adequate resources in the post-Covid recovery plans to definitely allow the transition to renewable energy sources and particularly to bio-based economy and stainable transport fuels. Decarbonisation of transport through RRCF and economic recovery do not compete, but rather represent a win-win solution in a well-designed and sustainable implementation strategy, especially when low or zero interest-rate investments are foreseen. The EU should take the opportunity to match the UN SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) and EU Green Deal goals with the need to inject economic and financial resources into the real economy improving the socio-economic conditions of EU populations. Both agroforestry and RRCF industry are ready to produce (biomass) or source (waste) the feedstocks as well as the technologies, systems and components needed by the industry along the whole value chain. The roadmap to cleaner transport fuels thus represent an evident opportunity to meet climate, economic and societal post-Covid19 goals, in a win-win-win approach.

Keywords: Advanced biofuels; Alternative fuels; Energy; Energy System Balancing; Recycled fuels; Renewable fuels; Security of supply; Single European market; Strategic Energy Storage.

Fig. 1

Pollutant drops in Wuhan during Covid19. No rebound effect observed till end of February 2020 .

Fig. 2

Greenhouse gas emissions by aggregated sector, European Environment Agency .

Fig. 3

Projected change in primary energy demand by fuel in 2020 relative to 2019 .

Fig. 4

Evolution of road transport and aviation activity in 2020 relative to 2019 .

Fig. 5

Share of each product in extra-EU imports in energy, 2019 and first semester 2019 (share (%) of trade in value) .

Fig. 6

Energy dependence rate, EU-28 2007–2017 (% of net imports in gross available energy).