Biofuel

You are here: home » biofuel

Biofuel

Neubrandenburg - looking up at tanks

The role of biofuels in global transport and energy portfolios is increasing to match the importance of issues relating to climate change and energy security. The production of biofuel for the road transport market meets key European and United States legislative requirements for diversification away from fossil fuels and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector.

International Energy Agency's View on the Role of Biofuels

The International Energy Agency stated in their World Energy Outlook Report 2006 that 'biofuels hold out the prospect of replacing substantial volumes of imported oil with indigenously produced renewable fuels and of diversifying sources of energy supply in the coming decades. Such a development would bring energy-security benefits to importing countries. Produced in a sustainable way, it could also bring environmental benefits, including lower greenhouse gas emissions, because the raw materials for producing biofuels are renewable'.

At present, biofuels represent 1% of global road transport fuels. The IEA's conservative estimate is that the world output of biofuels will climb from 20 Million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 2005 to 54 Mtoe in 2015 and 92 Mtoe in 2030. This represents an average annual growth rate of 7%.

EU Commitment to Biofuels

At the Spring European Council (March, 2007) European heads of state committed to set a binding target of 20% of the EU's total energy supply to come from renewables by 2020. The plan also involves a 10% minimum target on the use of biofuels in transport by 2020.

In order to meet these challenges, Bioverda is operating and developing biofuel assets throughout Europe and North America. Bioverda is developing ethanol plants in Indiana and Tennessee in the US, while in Europe Bioverda is operating biodiesel plants in Germany and planning additional plants in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Spain.

The breadth of Bioverda's international operations enables the company to generate additional value through the coordinated sourcing and supply of feedstocks, sale of products and maintenance of engineering resources. Bioverda also has a strong risk management arm that coordinates trades and activities to ensure an optimum risk profile across the Group.