Biofuels transport usage to be 27% by 2050
The use of biofuels is expected to grow rapidly over the next four decades according to the chair of European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBTP).
EBTP’s Lars Christian Hansen made the comments when discussing the future of the green energy fuel in transport, adding potentials of biofuels was “great”.
“The International Energy Agency has estimated that advanced biofuels, especially produced from residues and waste materials, could play a major role in the long run with a biofuels share in global total transport fuels reaching up to 27% in 2050, and thus effectively helping in reaching our energy targets.
“In Europe, it is estimated that approximately 4.5% of European transport energy is fulfilled with biofuels. The EU has set a target to achieve 10% of transport fuel from renewables by 2020 and 6% in a decrease of the carbon footprint of fuels put onto the market. These two ambitions are expected to be achieved mainly through the continued use of biofuels. In order to get the needed advanced biofuels to the market, the EBTP is actively involved in shaping the European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative, a programme led by the European Commission to fund advanced biofuel demonstration and flagship plants,” Hansen added.
The biofuels sector is likely to receive significant funding under the Societal Challenges of bioeconomy and transport as well as Industrial Leadership’s focus on biotechnology. Horizon 2020’s focus on bringing more products to market could also lead to more advances in the technology, though a strict EU regulatory framework could hamper final results.
“The EBTP has estimated that approximately 30 flagship plants would be needed in Europe to reach our 2020 goals. But funding of flagship plants (also called first-of-its-kind) and with this bridging the ‘valley-of-death’ between initial innovation and commercialisation is not the only obstacle for advanced biofuels.
“What is needed to be able to set up a vital European advanced biofuels industry is a predictable, long-term reliable policy framework, a portfolio of incentives based on technology and market maturity as well as public acceptance,” Hansen concluded.
