Turkey sets an example for Europe with its thriving liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) market, according to the President of the European LPG Association (AEGPL), Francesco Franchi, on Wednesday.
Franchi told Anadolu Agency that the AEGPL is absolutely surprised and happy to see the speed and extent of the development of Turkey's autogas market.
Franchi, who is also the president of the Italian LPG Association, said in Italy two million cars run on LPG, but in Turkey, this number has reached over 5 million.
'In Italy, activities [for LPG deployment] have continued for 40 years. But Turkey has achieved excellent work, especially the Turkish LPG Association who shares its experience with other national associations,' he said.
He confirmed that Turkey's presence in the LPG market is very significant.
'The three biggest markets in autogas are Turkey, Poland and Italy. But this should be seen in more countries including Germany, France and Spain,' he noted.
- Air pollution should be key topic
Franchi shared that after months of discussion with the European Commission; the AEGPL has succeeded in getting LPG included in the European Alternative Fuels Observatory along with electricity, hydrogen and natural gas.
'LPG is nature-friendly. Europe is now faced with a hard situation because a lot of politicians speak only against fossil fuels and they speak about carbon emissions. We don't have a clear situation about the problem of air pollution, but natural gas and LPG are clean and ready,' he asserted.
Franchi in response to the question of possible competition between LPG and Liquefied natural gas (LNG) said that both fuel types are not in competition with one another as they both serve the needs of different markets. He explained that LPG is a perfectly clean fuel for cooking, heating, household use, autogas, for gardening and barbecuing, but LNG is the answer for the bunkering and for the heavy vehicle fuel market.
'Together we can become the answer to the all problems of air quality and energy efficiency from tomorrow, and not in 20 or 30 years time. The world of gas cannot compete, but we need to compete against oil, fuel and in some cases against electricity. If it is not produced from renewable energy, we need to compete against it too,' he stressed.
The AEGPL Congress at the Lisbon Congress Center, which started Wednesday and ended late Thursday, discussed oil prices, what renewables bring to the LPG market, the rise in autogas consumption, LPG in the community and for small businesses, and the promotion of LPG solutions in an evolving policy environment.
The Congress saw the attendance of over 1,500 from 37 different countries with over 100 exhibiting companies.
Next year, the AEGPL Congress will be held in Monaco.
By Murat Temizer in Lisbon
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr