Q&A: DCC Energy eyes further LPG and low-carbon growth

Dublin-based DCC Energy continues to expand and diversify, completing 15 acquisitions over the past year that included two in the LPG sector. The company, which owns several LPG retail subsidiaries in Europe, the US and Hong Kong, bought Germany's Progas and the US' San Isabel Services Propane at the same time as it increasingly moves into low-carbon energy markets such as solar, biofuels and energy management services. Argus' Oliver Binks spoke with DCC Energy chief executive Fabian Ziegler about the company's 2023-24 results and its future plans:

DCC Energy has been moving into new markets as part of the energy transition. What share of the company does LPG represent?

We launched our Cleaner Energy in Your Power strategy last year, aiming to double our profit [and halve carbon emissions] by 2030. We think backwards from the customer, helping them through the energy trilemma, and provide energy solutions consisting of molecules — increasingly green — and often self-generated renewable electrons. We are ahead of schedule. LPG is about half of our profits but only 15pc of our carbon emissions. We believe in LPG's longevity. It is a societally very useful fuel. Like the World LPG Association renaming itself to World Liquid Gas Association, we now move our own definitions from LPG to LG — liquid gas.

DCC Energy has said it plans to grow its LPG offering by 50pc by 2030. Which areas geographically and sectorally is the company targeting?

Our LG journey took us from Ireland to [the UK], to Europe and to the US. We have just strengthened our position in Germany with the acquisition of Progas. A key growth region is the US. We made a small acquisition there last year. We are currently focused on making our business operationally excellent, namely around serving our customers. For now, the strategy places more emphasis on strengthening in each market rather than expansion into new territory.

We like our residential businesses, but we are targeting more growth in the commercial sector, where the case for multi-energy packages is greater. Overall, we aim to grow our LG business, but we need to create more sustainable credibility for LG. We are scaling up biopropane sales across Europe and trialling rDME [renewable DME] in the UK and Sweden, particularly with commercial and industrial customers, to enhance LG's relevance as a long-term low-carbon solution for Europe.

DCC Energy's profit rose strongly in the 2023-24 fiscal year ending in March, but overall sales volumes dropped slightly. How much did the LPG segment fare?

LG is often a mature market in Europe, however our LG sales volumes increased modestly in the year and we believe they can keep growing. We continue to drive the move from oil to gas for commercial and industrial customers. Many customers really appreciate the ability to make affordable CO2 reductions and having their own energy in a tank reliably supplied by DCC companies.

LPG sales in the UK and Ireland came under pressure from a warm winter but still grew on expanding commercial and industrial deliveries. What drove this?

Our businesses in Ireland and the UK continue to grow owing to diverse customer segments that are not all weather dependent. Under our Cleaner Energy in Your Power strategy, we act as an energy transition partner. Customers recognise the fiscal and carbon benefits of LG over heavier forms of fuel, driving growth in the transition. And some customers are investing in new off-grid facilities and choosing LG as their fuel sources. And it helps that we can provide broader energy packages entailing electron solutions. We also aim to increase our supply resilience with storage access at Teesside and our Avonmouth terminal project.

DCC Energy also reported strong profit growth in Scandinavia driven by LPG. What are your plans in this region?

We saw significant LG sales growth [in Scandinavia] last year when natural gas prices skyrocketed and customers wanted security of supply. Our Scandinavian business aims to lead the energy transition, with a focus on understanding our customers' needs and helping them reduce their carbon emissions. We aim to support large-scale production of rDME in Sweden and Norway and to see 50pc of sales coming from a wide range of renewable products by 2030. We have successfully run pilot tests in Sweden with rDME-LG blends at customers' sites, we invested in a rDME-LG blending facility, aiming for first customer deliveries in 2024, and received government funding for replacing LG with 100pc rDME at Bjorneborg Steel.

DCC has acquired Germany's Progas and the US' San Isabel Services Propane over the past year. Do you have plans for further takeovers in the LPG sector?

We have been one of the most active global buyers of LG businesses for several decades and will continue to pursue attractive acquisitions that strengthen our existing businesses, expand our markets and bring other important capabilities. We see a lot of potential in the US, where our DCC Propane business has achieved significant growth through many acquisitions since we entered that market in 2018. We continue to see many interesting opportunities in the US, which is far more fragmented than most European markets, with the top 20 propane retailers accounting for 40pc of the market and over 4,000 independent [firms accounting for 60pc].

Progas owns the Brunsbuttel and Duisburg LPG terminals in Germany. Given Poland faces a looming supply deficit when EU imports from Russia are banned from December, is DCC Energy looking at supplying Poland from these sites?

The Brunsbuttel and Duisburg terminals were welcomed into DCC's portfolio in northwest Europe, where their primary role remains unchanged — to provide supply security to our customers. Spare capacity might be used to support the Polish market. We see the capacity of our existing infrastructure in Germany to be sufficient to support our business there. Earlier this year, we created a central supply and trading team out of Amsterdam, called DCC LPG Procurement, which will look at more infrastructure plays. But we are not in the supply business for the sake of it. Our strategy focuses on our customers and providing them with sustainable solutions. Germany is a good example. Our priority in Germany is a seamless integration of Progas and Tega, [acquired in 2018], that is good for customers and our employees. And building out a leading energy management services business.

Flogas recently commissioned the Teesside LPG terminal near to Dimeta's upcoming rDME plant. Does Flogas plan to distribute DME or other renewable gases from the site?

Being at an energy hub clearly opens possibilities for sourcing low-carbon energy sources such as rDME that can be unlocked for our customers. With the likelihood that rDME will need to be blended with propane to achieve supply without changing infrastructure and equipment, it will be important for rDME sources to be logistically close to sources of propane. Teesside is well placed to offer this solution.

At what stage is the Avonmouth terminal project at?

The first 17,000t tank is fully refurbished and two truck racks have been put in place such that Avonmouth terminal now already plays an important role in providing supply security to our customers in southwest England. A further 17,000t tank will be refurbished and a connection will be made to the Bristol port to enable midsize LPG carrier imports. We expect first imports in 2026-27.