Fourth MED & Italian Energy Report: alternative fuels and the Mediterranean
SRM, a research centre linked to Intesa Sanpaolo Banking Group, presented to the European Parliament its fourth MED & Italian Energy Report, entitled “Alternative fuels: a strategic option for the Euro-Mediterranean area?”, which this year focuses in particular on alternative fuels, including both biofuels and synthetics.
Alternative fuels could play an important role in supporting the green transition process, particularly in maritime transport, by reducing Europe’s energy dependency and enhancing Euro-Mediterranean integration.
The study was carried out in cooperation with ESL@Energy Center Politecnico di Torino and Fondazione Matching Energies, and is the result of a larger project.
The Observatory and the Turin university are collaborating on the research project ENEMED, which brings together the engineering expertise of the ESL@Energy Center of Politecnico di Torino and SRM’s expertise in economic relations in the Mediterranean and the monitoring of energy infrastructures and renewable energy sources.
“Alternative fuels: a strategic option for the Euro-Mediterranean area?” - Highlights
- The study shows that there is a relationship between alternative fuels and the role of the Mediterranean in energy transition and independence processes.
- The structure of the European Union’s energy mix is changing: renewables and biofuels have been gaining ground over the past two decades.
- Diversification of sources, shifting supply arrangements and reduced natural gas consumption are the directions in which Europe and Italy have been moving in the new energy sector, under the impetus of the geopolitical and strategic turmoil caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
- The Southern Mediterranean plays a strategic role in overcoming the crisis and reaching future energy balances – and not only for fossil fuels.
- However, in the long term a strategic interplay among energy commodities will be necessary for building a new “green” dialogue.
- Biofuels and e-fuels should support the energy transition to a fully decarbonised transport sector, especially for hard-to-abate segments such as aviation and shipping.
- In the Mediterranean region, various policies are in place to support the development of alternative fuels: in particular, the northern shore plays a leading role, while the southern and eastern shores are accelerating.
- The establishment of sustainable biomass value chains for the biofuels production could represent a win-win solution for both transport sector decarbonisation and the recovery of abandoned or marginal agricultural land, thus enabling more sustainable agriculture.
- In the transport sector, synthetic fuels will not completely replace fossil fuels; however, they could help preserve knowledge and infrastructure in the oil and gas industry, as well as conventional internal combustion engines and jet engines in long-haul transport subsectors.
- Maritime transport and ports play an increasingly important role as they are moving towards new models increasingly aimed at energy development such as green ports and green ships.
Download the summary of the fourth MED & Italian Energy Report.
Last updated 16 December 2022 at 15:41:39
