Calor’s Mary Coughlin, from Bangor, Co Down, was recognised as one of the five leading women in the global gas industry at the World LPG Association Conference in Houston, Texas. Coughlin, who has spearheaded the launch of Calor BioLPG, the first renewable gas that is commercially available in Northern Ireland, was one of five women from across the globe recognised at the industry event. [caption id="attachment_46766" align="alignright" width="200"] Mary Coughlin. Photo: Aaron McCracken/Harrisons[/caption] The WLPGA has invited Mary to be a role model for women and in particular young women in the industry. As with many fields of engineering, gender balance has been poor in the LPG industry.

Increase participation by women in the energy sector


These awards are part of the drive to increase participation by women in the energy sector and with LPG in particular. Coughlin joined Calor in 2008 having completed an engineering degree in the University of Ulster. More recently, she returned to the University of Ulster and completed a master's in Business Development and Innovation. In January of 2017, she was appointed as BioLPG product manager, helping to roll out the launch of BioLPG across Europe, for Calor’s parent company SHV. Gino Van Steenhuyse, CEO of Calor Ireland, congratulated Coughlin on her achievement: “Since taking on the role as product manager for BioLPG, Mary has made a major contribution not only to SHV and Calor, but to the future of our industry. "Innovation’s such as BioLPG are essential if we are to move to a low carbon society. Mary has been instrumental to the successful launch of BioLPG throughout Europe.”