Biodiesel brouhaha as EU outlines 2030 biofuels targets

European Commission proposals on biofuels and renewable energy in transport have sparked anger from biodiesel producers, with questions remaining over the implementation of the new decree.

French producers federation Esterifrance — which is effectively controlled by Europe's biggest biodiesel producer Groupe Avril — said the commission's proposal to cut first generation biofuels to a 3.8pc share by 2030 were "a death sentence for the French biodiesel sector." The cut, from a maximum of 7pc today, would increase fossil fuel imports and were "indefensible and unacceptable," said Esterifrance's Kristell Guizouarn, who is also Avril's head of development. Avril takes around 40pc of the French rapeseed crop to produce biodiesel, sitting on top of a collective of around 11,000 French farmers.

German biofuels producer federation VDB echoed Esterifrance, saying the commission's draft document was a "fatal pathway, for climate, agriculture and economic policy." VDB said the phase out of first generation biofuels — those made from food crops such as rapeseed and palm oil — would lead to higher use of fossil fuels.

But the proposals appear to be exacerbating a split between producers of first generation biodiesel and those producing second generation product from waste oils and fats. The latter have criticised the use of virgin vegetable oils such as palm oil as feedstock, saying biodiesel made from waste has greater greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions savings. Producers' federation LSB, which includes Netherlands-based St1, Finland's UPM and chemicals firm Clariant, welcomed the draft.

While the commission proposed a 6.8pc share in 2030 for what it described as advanced transport fuels — including renewable electricity — it will propose a cap of 1.7pc on biodiesel made from waste oils (ucome) and fats (TME). The commission said the fuels would be limited to "take the state of technological development into account and to promote in particular innovative renewable fuels with a high potential. Otherwise fuel suppliers would aim to fulfil the obligation only with the cheapest fuels available on the market."

The reaction of producers and environmental nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) to this clause is largely one of confusion, with the commission yet to expand on or clarify its position. In capping ucome and TME — effectively separating them from what it describes as advanced biofuels — the commission may be attempting to head off a sharp increase in demand for used cooking oil (uco) and tallow feedstock.

The draft suggests there are now three categories of biodiesel — first generation, waste-based and what the commission classes as advanced. This last category includes feedstock largely untested at commercial scale such as sewage and palm oil mill effluent (POME), but does not include palm oil fatty acid distillates (PFAD), which firms were considering as a feedstock.

Advanced biofuels from waste federation Ewaba said it regretted the proposed separate cap on ucome and TME and said the commission's decision was a "missed opportunity."

The commission's proposal has echoes of its attempt to counter land use concerns (Iluc) in 2012, which sparked a furious reaction from first generation biodiesel firms. Much amended legislation based around Iluc concerns was finally adopted in 2015 and was the central pillar of an existing cap of 7pc on first generation biofuels.

The commission's proposal to cut first generation biofuels to a 3.8pc share by 2030 would mean consumption of first generation biofuels would be 5pc in 2027, around the same level as today. Environmental NGO Transport and Environment said the commission's draft decree was "backtracking" by proposing a new market for what it described as "unproven biofuels."