European Commission plans expanded definition of 'advanced' biofuel, draws criticism from trade group EWABA, as changes would apply to aviation sector only; group says move disrupts fairness across sectors, undermines investments in biofuel supply chain

“The last-minute addition of intermediate/cover crops only for aviation in part A is very surprising and has strongly unsettled many of our members who see a clear discrimination against other transport sectors” 

The EWABA association, representing 55+ stakeholders from the EU waste-based and advanced biodiesel supply chain, welcomes the long-awaited inclusion of additional feedstocks in Annex IX of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). This feedstock expansion will generally broaden the availability of waste-based and advanced biofuels for all transport modes and alleviate part of the pressure on some feedstocks used to produce waste-based biofuels, which have been subject to a high degree of focus.

EWABA members would like to highlight that the introduction of intermediate/cover crops for the supply of fuels exclusively for the aviation industry in part A of Annex IX will have negative consequences as it interferes with the level-playing field across sectors and challenges the principle of technology neutrality, a crucial pillar for investment certainty. We believe that the extra incentive for intermediate/cover crops will direct them towards the aviation industry to the detriment of their use in other hard to decarbonize sectors, such as heavy-duty road and especially the maritime sector.

Given the extremely significant potential availability of the new feedstocks populating the Annex IX1 our association expects the European Commission to issue without delay a separate delegated act eliminating the Annex IX Part B limitation, which goes against the feedstock expansion proposed under the revised list.

“Broadening the feedstock base for biofuels production is in itself positive news. The revision will hopefully reduce the pressure felt by the whole industry by the significant demand of waste-derived feedstocks. The last-minute addition of intermediate/cover crops only for aviation in part A is very surprising and has strongly unsettled many of our members who see a clear discrimination against other transport sectors” EWABA Secretary General Angel Alvarez Alberdi said.

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About EWABA

EWABA is a Brussels-based association representing the interests of the European waste-based and advanced biofuels industry before EU institutions, national governments, industry, civil society and the media. We promote the inclusion of waste-based and advanced biofuels in the EU fuel mix as a sustainable means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in EU transport. Our 55+ members active in most EU Member States collect and use waste and advanced feedstocks listed in parts A and B of Annex IX of the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII) to produce sustainable biodiesel with the highest GHG savings (up to +90%) when compared with fossil fuels, thus enabling “near-term decarbonization” of the EU road and maritime transport sectors. https://www.ewaba.eu/ 

1 The combined potential volumes of the new proposed feedstocks for part B are well over 100 million tons in 2030, whereas the 1.7% limit represents only +6 million tons. See European Commission, Directorate-General for Energy, Haye, S., Panchaksharam, Y., Raphael, E. et al., Assessment of the potential for new feedstocks for the production of advanced biofuels – Final report, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2833/719121