Availability of Advanced, Second-Generation Biofuels Increases – Policymakers Asked to Unleash Their Full Potential

(Clariant/EurActiv) Starting in the fourth quarter of this year, Clariant’s sunliquid® cellulosic ethanol plant in Podari, Romania, will ramp up production in order to produce 50,000 tons of cellulosic ethanol per year. -- Energy prices are soaring and the Commission in its recent communication confirms its determination to stick to its proposed Fit-for-55-package. It concludes that “the clean energy transition is the best insurance against price shocks like the one the EU is facing today”.

The social dimension enters the political debate with force and must not be neglected as – according to the Commission’s own assessment – 13% of the EU population is endangered by acute energy poverty. Several central and Eastern European countries already vented their concerns about the social disruptions that the Fit-for-55-package could have at the last environment council meeting in early October. While an increasing share of EU citizens struggles to keep their homes adequately warm, also mobility has become a basic need that enables social and economic inclusiveness, especially in rural areas.

To leave no one behind – a declared aim of the EU’s Green Deal – mobility must stay affordable also to low-income households. Keeping costs in balance, Europe needs a mix of renewable energy sources in the transport sector. Advanced biofuels are amongst the solutions with the lowest CO₂ abatement costs in the transportation sector (Integrated Fuels and Vehicles Roadmap to 2030+, Roland Berger) and therefore need to be strongly promoted alongside eFuels and electromobility.

Also, the recent energy price spike should remind the European Union of a seemingly forgotten but very powerful driver for the renewable energy transition: energy security. Despite a decade of concerted EU renewable energy policies, the bloc still imports 97% of its oil and 90% of its gas needs today (EC Communication on energy prices, p.3). This makes the EU economy vulnerable to high price fluctuations of these globally traded commodities as well as geopolitical powerplays. EU policy should have the objective to promote genuinely domestic energy sources where the EU can harvest the economic benefits along the whole value chain.

The paramount aim of the policymakers should be to achieve the ambitious GHG saving targets with a renewable energy mix at affordable prices and with an EU footprint. Advanced biofuels present such a low-emission solution that can be used in today’s existing cars and fueling infrastructure as well as in planes as high-performance aviation fuel.

Looking at the building blocks of the proposed Fit-for-55-package, the planned revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (only 3 years after the latest revision round) with the confirmed sub-target for advanced biofuels and the reduction of double-counting points into the right direction. In line with the Commission’s own impact assessment the sub-target for advanced biofuels produced from feedstock listed in Annex IX part A should however be more ambitious, as the technology is ready to be rolled out commercially:

Only a couple of weeks ago, Clariant completed the construction of its flagship facility in Romania. The project receives funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program for research, technological development and demonstration under Grant Agreement no. 322386 (SUNLIQUID) and from the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement no. 709606 (LIGNOFLAG).

Starting in the fourth quarter of this year, Clariant’s sunliquid® cellulosic ethanol plant in Podari, Romania, will ramp up production in order to produce 50,000 tons of cellulosic ethanol per year. By locally sourcing feedstock, greenhouse gas emission reduction can be maximized. Also, additional business opportunities arise along the regional value chain: co-products produced by the process will be used for the generation of renewable energy with the goal of making the plant independent of fossil energy sources. Therefore, the bioethanol produced by the sunliquid® process helps decarbonize the transport sector by providing up to 95% CO₂ savings compared to fossil fuel, and by as much as 120% if carbon sequestration is considered and used as part of the production process.

“Cellulosic ethanol produced from agricultural residues plays a key role in leading today’s economy into a more sustainable future. Besides application as a drop-in solution for fuel blending, this offers further downstream application opportunities into sustainable aviation fuels or bio-based chemicals,” comments Christian Librera, Clariant’s Head of Business Line Biofuels and Derivatives.

According to a recent analysis by the World Economic Forum’s Clean Skies Initiative, sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) have the potential to account for 10% of EU aviation fuel by 2030. Thus, the ambition level of the proposed ReFuelEU Aviation regulation seems to be rather low – especially as the volumes are not additional to the ones mandated under the RED. Also, the current proposal fails to acknowledge that different sustainable fuel alternatives need a different level of support. Therefore, the approach taken in the proposed revision of the RED should also be applied in the ReFuelEU Aviation regulation namely establishing a dedicated Annex IX A fuels sub-mandate alongside the eKerosene mandate.

“Clariant is fully committed to sustainable mobility: With a broad product portfolio, we support the transition to sustainable mobility beyond advanced biofuels, including purification aids for renewables fuels, catalysts for eFuels, chemical additives solutions for batteries and electromobility. To maximize sustainability benefits, EU policies must take the full life cycle performance of these mobility solutions into account.“ says Richard Haldimann, Clariant’s Head of Sustainability Transformation. “The Fit-for-55-package now has to give a strong signal to investors with ambitious mandates for advanced biofuels both in the RED and in the ReFuel EU aviation regulation as well as a technology-neutral definition of zero-emission vehicles.”

Clariant is a focused, sustainable and innovative speciality chemical company based in Muttenz, near Basel/Switzerland. On 31 December 2020, the company employed a total workforce of 13 235. In the financial year 2020, Clariant recorded sales of CHF 3.860 billion for its continuing businesses. The company reports in three business areas: Care Chemicals, Catalysis and Natural Resources. Clariant’s corporate strategy is based on five pillars: focus on innovation and R&D, add value with sustainability, reposition portfolio, intensify growth, and increase profitability. READ MORE