Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) could play a significant role in improving energy access, resilience and economic participation across Africa, particularly in regions where grid-based electricity infrastructure remains limited, highlights industry association World Liquid Gas Association (WLGA) CEO and MD James Rockall.

He says that Africa continues to face deep structural energy deficits, with about 600-million people lacking access to electricity and roughly 80% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa without access to clean cooking fuels.

“These are massive challenges that affect people’s daily lives,” Rockall says, noting that inadequate energy access constrains health outcomes, education, gender equity and economic development.

Consequently, Rockall argues that accelerating progress requires energy solutions that can be deployed rapidly, at relatively low cost, and without the need for extensive grid infrastructure and, within this context, LPG offers characteristics that distinguish it from other energy options.

He says LPG’s portability allows it to be used independently of electricity grids, enabling distributed energy systems to be rolled out where infrastructure investment would otherwise be restrictive.

“One of the main constraints on energy system development is the high cost of infrastructure. LPG allows that cost to be bypassed by bringing distributed energy directly to where it is needed,” Rockall says.

He describes LPG as “essentially natural gas in a bottle”, with similar emissions characteristics and end-user functionality and, from an energy system perspective, LPG can support numerous applications, including domestic cooking, commercial and industrial heating, and distributed power generation.

For Africa, LPG-based power generation could also displace diesel generation, providing a cleaner alternative for off-grid and embedded generation applications.

Rockall emphasises that the most immediate opportunity for impact lies in addressing Africa’s clean cooking deficit, which he describes as one of the continent’s most pressing energy-related health and social challenges.

“The continued use of traditional biomass fuels for cooking is one of the most significant energy, health and gender equity issues facing Africa today,” he highlights, adding that the investment required to address the problem is relatively low when compared with other public health interventions.

Reliance on biomass fuels perpetuates a cycle of poverty, particularly affecting women and girls who spend several hours a day collecting firewood and cooking, limiting their ability to participate in education or economic activities, Rockall adds.

He explains that providing delivered fuel to households removes that burden and creates opportunities for education and income generation, which is how the cycle can be broken.

Infrastructure Barriers

Rockall cautions that affordability alone will not resolve the issue, noting that while household income constraints are a factor, the absence of physical infrastructure remains the primary barrier to LPG adoption in many African countries.

This includes primary infrastructure such as import terminals, ports and shipping capacity, as well as secondary infrastructure including bottling plants, cylinder fleets and national distribution networks.

“To unlock investment in this infrastructure, the first requirement is stable, targeted and long-term enabling policy. In many African markets, that policy framework is not yet in place,” Rockall explains.

Once infrastructure is established and LPG is locally available, additional measures are needed to improve household access, and this includes consumer financing mechanisms, targeted subsidies and alternative payment models such as ‘pay-as-you-cook’ systems, which allow consumers to pay incrementally, rather than buying full cylinders upfront.

Rockall notes that both infrastructure development and consumer access mechanisms are heavily influenced by government policy and regulatory certainty.

Additionally, he cites international precedents demonstrating that large-scale LPG adoption is achievable when policy alignment exists. For example, he highlights that India has expanded LPG access to about 500-million people over the past decade, while Indonesia has reached about 200-million people, and Brazil now has LPG penetration exceeding 90% of households. He also points out that in each case, strong policy leadership came first, often driven from the highest levels of government.

Rockall acknowledges that Africa remains at an early stage of implementation but maintains that international awareness and engagement have increased, pointing to the mobilisation of $2.2-billion in clean cooking finance at the Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa, which took place in Paris in 2024. Following the summit, an estimated three-quarters of investment has been directed towards LPG-related projects.

The recent International Energy Agency ministerial meeting which took place in Paris and upcoming planned clean cooking summit set to be hosted in Nairobi, Kenya are expected to further focus attention on policy reform and investment mobilisation.

Rockall adds that LPG’s storability, deployability and independence from grid infrastructure also enhance energy security, particularly in a context of global supply-chain uncertainty and constrained power systems.

“For a continent that does not yet have comprehensive grid coverage, LPG offers a resilient and scalable energy option that can support development objectives in the medium term,” he concludes.