Biofuels to Play ‘a Big Role’ in Reducing EU Dependency on Russian Fossil Fuels: MEP

June 27, 2022

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(Biofuels Central) In a landmark decision on 31 May, the EU agreed to end most Russian oil imports by the end of the year. Renewable biofuels have been touted as a means to partially replace the embargoed oil, as the domestically produced fuels can be blended with petrol and diesel.

However, biofuels have proven controversial, with green campaigners seeking to reduce their production. To discuss the role of biofuels in plugging Europe’s oil supply gap, EURACTIV spoke with MEP Henna Virkkunen, who is actively engaged in transport issues.

Henna Virkkunen is a Finnish lawmaker with the centre-right EPP Group. She is a member of the Parliament’s transport and industry committees.

The EU recently agreed on a partial Russian oil ban. One potential source of liquid fuel being put forward to meet the shortfall is biofuels. Do you believe ethanol and biodiesel have a role to play in displacing Russian fossil fuels in the transport sector?

Henna Virkkunen, lawmaker with the centre-right EPP Group, said:

Yes, it is clear that sustainably sourced biomass, including biofuels, plays a big role in the process of reducing EU dependency on Russian fossil fuels.

Considering that currently biomass covers around 60% of EU renewable energy sources, and that we need to reach our ever-stricter climate goals already by 2030, it is clear that biofuels are needed to cut emissions quickly in various different modes of transport.

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We need to incentivise especially biofuels production which builds on an efficient circular economy based on raw material use, where each raw material flow is used to maximise the value of the feedstock and to avoid creating any waste.

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The European Parliament recently voted to back a ban on the sale of diesel and petrol cars in 2035. Did you support this position?

I did not support a total ban, but instead I supported the position that 90% of vehicles should be zero emission by 2035. I see that there is also room for diesel and petrol cars, as what matters most is not the type of car per se but the lifecycle emissions of the vehicle and the type of fuel used.

We need to be ambitious but also realistic. Making use of the existing car fleet is a cost-efficient way to gain emission reductions quickly.

France has seen considerable growth in E85 (up to 85% ethanol fuel blend), with price considerations largely driving uptake. Industry says this can lead to greenhouse gas GHG savings of around 70%. But NGOs have been more negative. Would you support more European countries providing higher ethanol blends at the petrol pump, such as E85?

I believe it’s not the job of us, decision-makers, to choose any particular winning technologies or solutions. Our job is to set goals and then allow for industry and the member states themselves to find the most cost-efficient ways to reach those goals.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution – higher ethanol blends are one efficient measure to contribute to the transition.

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The EU has to take responsibility and help developing countries dependent on Ukrainian food exports to get through the food crisis.

However, sustainably produced biofuels should not contribute to the problem as their production builds increasingly on waste and residues. READ MORE

'Diesel creates fewer emissions' than biofuels, claims green lobby group (The Load Star)

Excerpt from The Load Star: Brussels-based green lobby group Transport & Environment has hit out at the use of biofuels in transport, saying it is environmentally worse than fossil fuels.

It also claims biofuel needlessly increases costs for end users.

The group’s surprise condemnation follows a T&E report this week, which appears to suggest a transition to biodiesel, among other next-generation fuels like e-methanol and e-ammonia, would be both affordable and sustainable, noting that the cost spread is spiralling.

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Mr Marahrens (T&E senior campaign manager biofuels & energy Maik Marahrens) said biofuel demand provided “a perverse incentive”, which ultimately leads to greater use of the extremely damaging virgin palm oil.

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T&E’s report clarifies that used cooking oil, widely touted as liquid biofuels’ main feedstock, “does not come with these negative consequences”, but, “is very limited in supply. Europe is already importing more than half of its UCO consumption for biodiesel”.

But this claim contrasts sharply with the testimony of Isabel Welten, unequivocal in an interview with The Loadstar this week that abundant residual feedstocks are available.

“A more mature biofuel market will have much more positive influence [on cost],” she said. “Of course, you have to make sure you’re still working with the right sustainable feedstocks, but in order to unlock more sustainable feedstocks, you have to have an increase in demand first, otherwise there is no business case for… slightly more complex, harder feedstocks to work with.

“But if you look at the energy coming from biomass, and the energy demands of transport, then it matches easily,” Ms Welten added. “We just need to make sure we find the right ways to get these sustainable feedstocks.”

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Responding to the T&E assertions yesterday, Ms Welten said her company only used biofuel products that “cannot be used for food and feed”, and operates according to International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) standards.

“These feedstocks can include sawdust, crude tall oil (a by-product of wood pulp manufacture), tallow, sewage sludge and used cooking oils… we are working on digital and physical supply chain tracing projects.”

Ms Welten pointed to research demonstrating an abundance of feedstock for biofuel, including one study which suggests potential biofuel feedstock in the EU alone will be over up to 127.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe) available by 2030, and up to 252 mtoe by 2050. This is enough to cover more than five times shipping’s energy demand in 2017, and more than half that of the entire transport sector, which was 430 mtoe. READ MORE