Your presentation at the Future Fuels 2016: Automobile, Marine and Aviation event is called ‘The role of fuels in decarbonising road transport.’ What will attendees learn?
At the seminar on 26 April 2016, I’ll be looking at the work that LowCVP has done with stakeholders to develop a consensus on what vehicle technologies will be used up to 2050, and what these fuels will achieve between 2020 and 2030. I will look at the work LowCVP has undertaken to allow different vehicles, technologies and fuels to be compared both by policy makers but also by consumers about fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
What does your role at LowCVP involve?
As the Policy and Operations Director, I have responsibility for formulating the policy objectives of the partnership, in conjunction with government departments and members, so I co-ordinate the partnership’s work on fuels and innovation in order to accelerate the shift to low carbon vehicles and fuels.
What are you most looking forward to by attending Future Fuels 2016?
The key benefit for me is bringing stakeholders from different transport sectors together to share views and experiences.
We know how to take a barrel of crude and break it down into products used in different transport sectors and markets.
We need to learn how to do this for future fuels. There will be synergies that can be exploited, and scarce resources which we will need to understand, and this event will help share experiences and perspectives between the main transport sectors.
Where do you see the usage of alternative, low-carbon fuels to be in 10 years?
In the road transport sector we will see traditional fuels increasingly blended with more sustainable, lower carbon fuels. At the same time the market for alternative fuels will grow from small volume niche products to an increasing proportion of transport energy. By 2030, liquid fossil fuels will still provide the majority of transport power but lower carbon fuels will comprise a growing proportion of that energy.
Is the use of fuels in transport and the reduction of the carbon footprint actually a stepping stone to all-electric or hydrogenpowered vehicles, or can the two forms work together?
The UK has ambitious objectives to decarbonise transport by 2050. Currently electric and hydrogen vehicles offer the potential means to do deliver this in the majority of the transport sector, but not all. Liquid fuels have the key benefit of being energy dense so I would expect liquid fuels to continue to play an important role. We may yet see innovations that affect the role liquid fuels will play by 2050.
Future Fuels 2016: Automobile, Marine and Aviation will be held in London on 26 April 2016. Email: eventenquiries@imeche.org or call Tel: +44 (0) 207 973 1251 to ask a question about the event.