en2x: New association demands radical rethinking of the mineral oil industry

As the newly founded en2x – Economic Association for Fuels and Energy e.V. has announced, the petroleum industry in Germany aims to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2045.

“Our industry can and wants to be part of the solution with its technologies, its know-how, and with new products. And this clearly means: At the end of the process, the petroleum industry will no longer be a petroleum industry,” explained Dr. Fabian Ziegler, Chairman of the Board of en2x and Chairman of the Management Board of Shell Deutschland GmbH.

In the lobbying association en2x, the Institute for Heat and Mobility (IWO) and the Petroleum Industry Association (MWV) have been united. According to their own statement, the name stands for “energy to x” – where the “x” represents the multitude of energy sources, production methods, and uses that are needed to meet climate goals.

The share of mineral oil in the total German energy supply currently amounts to around one-third. Including customer emissions, this roughly corresponds to the proportion of the national CO2 footprint of the sector among the total carbon dioxide emissions. According to this, about 60 percent of the mineral oil products are currently used in transportation and nearly 20 percent in heat supply; the remaining good 20 percent are raw materials for the chemical industry, such as bitumen for roofs, roads, and bike paths, as well as lubricants for machines or wind turbines. To make the energy transition a success, the framework conditions set by the government also need to be right, demanded Ziegler.

“The coalition agreement sounds promising. Cost efficiency, technology neutrality, and the CO2 price are supposed to play an important role.”