Carriers are tempted to stop using NGV because of its price. What is your analysis of the situation?
Clément Chandon: The war in Ukraine has thrown fuel prices into chaos. These fuels had already increased at the end of 2021 due to the lack of reserves. But if gas has seen its price multiplied by seven, those of oil and rapeseed oil have doubled. And that of electricity has increased eightfold. With the imperatives in transport and TCO of vehicles, an increase in the cost of transport is inevitable until France becomes energy independent. The shippers must accept it by paying their foot of invoice. But a return to normal is expected within 18 months, when the EU will have given up Russian hydrocarbons.
What can carriers do until then?
Clément Chandon: Carriers must turn to biogas. 85% of this bioagz is produced in France. Its production price is fixed for fifteen years. With the EU having doubled its production target to 30 billion cubic meters by 2030, biogas will be the bedrock of the energy transition. Today, transporters pay for it at the price of fossil gas. But the government can apply the incentive tax to the use of renewable energies in transport (Tiruert). And this, to develop its consumption and support it by decorrelating its price from the price of fossil natural gas. It must also go beyond the 0.15 euro/kg aid on NGV fuel to ensure cost parity and make NGV vehicles eligible for the France Relance fund of 100 million euros.
Can’t carriers use biofuels or electromobility that you also offer?
Clément Chandon: It is because we have these solutions that we believe that biogas remains the solution for today and tomorrow. We offer XTL, produced from virtuous inputs such as animal or recycled fats, rather than B100, the production of which requires a lot of pesticides, but their production will remain limited. As for electromobility, carriers should be aware that they will bear 75% of the costs of connecting to the network. And that they will provide 98% of investments in charging stations. This will in fact be done mainly in their depots, whatever the shippers and manufacturers may say.
What solutions do you offer for transport?
Clément Chandon: We recommend that the government authorize the purchase of guarantees of biomethane origin for LNG. And to extend to 4.5 t the PTAC of own LCVs to reinforce their interest. We invite carriers to smooth out the additional cost by extending the ownership of their CNG vehicles for one year. And we will follow them in this process. We will also increase the autonomy of CNG VIs by adding fuel tanks. And by cooling the gas to 250°C to reduce its volume.
