Seminar “e-fuels made in Europe: challenges for a successful deployment

E-fuels made in Europe: challenges for a successful deployment

On 15 October, IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN) and CEA organised a seminar day in Brussels, at the Irène and Frédéric Joliot-Curie House, entitled “E-fuels Made in Europe: challenges for a successful deployment”. The event brought together stakeholders from across the e-fuels value chain: research representatives, industry representatives, technology developers, end users, and public and European institutions.

In their introduction to the seminar, Raphaël Huyghe (IFPEN) and Claire Gauthier (CEA) recalled its context: although Europe’s climate ambitions will largely be achieved through electrification, certain sectors—notably aviation and maritime transport—require liquid or gaseous fuels with high energy density, such as synthetic fuels. With the ambitious aim of building a European e-fuels industry, significant research efforts are needed to improve existing processes and reduce their costs. Furthermore, research cannot act alone, and strong links must be established between the various stakeholders in the European e-fuels sector to ensure its development.

The morning provided an opportunity to discuss the regulatory framework for e-fuels, followed by an overview of technological developments for e-fuel production, including those carried out by IFPEN, which were presented by Catherine Laroche (IFPEN).

In the afternoon, Julien Grandjean, scientific coordinator of the PEPR EBIOCARB programme, outlined the programme’s main research priorities during a round-table discussion, with a focus on the emergence of a competitive and sustainable French hybrid fuels industry. The discussion with participants highlighted the importance of technological breakthroughs and scale-up efforts expected to reduce production costs, as well as the challenges associated with the availability of biomass resources and low-carbon electricity.

🔁Find the event programme on the IFPEN website.