EU urged to support advanced biofuels

OREANDA-NEWS. October 13, 2016. The European Commission has been urged by a producer group to support advanced biofuels, in order to meet 2030 low carbon emissions targets.

Biofrontiers wants a mid-term binding advanced fuels target in 2025, which should be revised higher five years later. The group, which counts among its members producers such as Finland's UPM and Germany-based Petrotec, as well the Institute of European Environmental Policy, advocates biofuels made from waste and residues.

These advanced biofuels offer reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) savings of up to 90pc compared with fossil fuels, as an alternative to first generation grades made from crops — which have fallen out of favour because of arguments they have little benefit when indirect land use change (iluc) effects are taken into account.

But a low oil price means the only way to secure investment in these advanced grades is with a long-term policy framework to mitigate risk.

The EU is aiming to reduce GHG emissions by 40pc by 2030, but while 25pc of European carbon emissions come from transport — the second largest contributor — there are no specific plans in place to tackle the problems in this sector post-2020. A 10pc renewable energy in transport mandate with a 0.5pc non-binding advanced biofuel target by 2020 has been proposed by the commission, but beyond this countries are expected to enforce their own agendas to meet general GHG goals.

Estimates vary on how much waste and residue feedstock is available to fulfil the higher production of advanced biofuels needed to make a significant contribution towards transport fuel.

Biofrontiers says around 140mn t of raw material is available for production of a possible 27mn t of advanced biofuels in 2020. But first generation producers and brokers are not so sure, saying collection of feedstocks such as used cooking oil (UCO) are already close to maturity in Europe, and that other potential sources such as algae are too expensive to utilise on an industrial scale.

In addition there is less UCO being imported to the EU, particularly from China which has been developing its own advanced biofuel industry. With a couple of large hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) plants coming online next year — Total's 500,000 t/yr La Mede and Eni's 750,000 t/yr Gela — an additional 1mn t/yr of feedstock will be needed by 2020 than is currently available.

Biofrontiers said the lack of feedstock was the reason the sector needed more investment, and the way to get this was increased policy support.