Renewable Fuels

Why are renewable fuels needed?

To realize a climate neutral and circular economy in 2050 a more efficient use of energy, resources and materials, as well as use of more sustainable energy and resources, is essential to secure future prosperity1. Fossil fuels need to be replaced. For more sustainable transport, current strategies focus on switching from electric transport to renewable fuels, as electrification of transport is not an alternative as storage of electricity is problematic in several ways:

  • Many means of transport, such as aircraft, ships, trucks or engines in heavy equipment such as construction machinery, require a fuel with a high energy density. The main advantage of fuel or gaseous fuels is that they per unit (m3) store much energy which can be used in current motors and fuel infrastructure.
  • Storage of equal amount of energy in a battery requires more space. These batteries require more and more scarce metals, such as lithium. Which means that alternative options are needed to reach the climate goals for transport.
  • The electricity required for transport creates a new request for renewable electricity. Time is needed to improve the capacity of electricity generation based on renewable sources. Electricity is currently generated with fossil fuels. In 2020 roughly 27% of total usage was made with renewable resources in the Netherlands (CBS). This share will increase in the coming years due to the planned expansion of production capacity based on wind and solar energy.

Therefore, it is essential for more sustainable air and shipping and (heavy) road traffic to develop renewable fuels2. This production of renewable fuels, based on biorefining or electrochemical refining, also contributes to the switch to sustainable raw materials for chemistry and materials. After all, in all these chains we have to replace the currently used fossil raw materials.

Legislation

Dutch and European legislation require a mandatory and increasing use of renewable fuels. On the Dutch national level through Het Klimaatakkoord (Climate Agreement), introducing a set target for CO2 emission reduction through the use of 60 PJ renewable fuels in the national transport sector by 2030. In addition, targets for the use of renewable fuels for shipping have been proposed, of 5 PJ. The Dutch annual obligation gives the suppliers an annually increasing mandatory target. Suppliers will have to market 65 PJ of renewable fuels or renewable electricity for transport by 2030.

Simultaneously, targets for the use of renewable fuels for both international shipping and aviation industries have been proposed. The current proposal is to mix 14% renewable kerosene for the aviation industry in 2030, which is roughly equivalent to approximately 700 thousand tons of renewable kerosene used in aviation2. By 2050 all in the Netherlands tanked kerosene is to be sustainable, which will require large amounts of sustainable renewable fuels and synthetic kerosene in the coming decades3.

Whereas the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2020 agreed on an absolute reduction of 50% greenhouse gas reductions. In order to reach this goal, more efficient and renewable fuels are needed for the shipping industry. At the same time, the European Commission made proposals in July 2021 for a mandatory and increasing percentage to make fuels for aviation and maritime transport more sustainable. The proposed obligations are likely to come into effect as early as 2025, once the proposals have been adopted4. Unfortunately, no mandatory targets have yet been agreed for reusing carbon in the chemical sector. In any case, sustainable biobased raw materials can be used in the form of high-value applications in materials and in chemistry1, of which renewable fuels are essential.


Content

In this wiki there are 9 chapters on renewable fuels. These are:

Referenties

1SER Sociaal Economische Raad, (2020), Biomassa in Balans, Een duurzaamheidskader voor hoogwaardige inzet van biogrondstoffen.

2Knotter, L. (2020). Beleidsanalyse hernieuwbare brandstoffen, ten behoeve van ontwikkelen van bouwstenen routekaart learning community hernieuwbare brandstoffen.

3Ministerie van Infrastructuur & Waterstaat (2020), Duurzaamheidskader biogrondstoffen. IENW/BSK-2020/199826.

4Voorstellen van de Europese Commissie om -55% reductie in 2030 te behalen. Een pakket van maateregelen waaronder voorstellen voor verplichtingen voor internationale zee- en luchtvaart (FuelEU Maritime, REFuel EU Aviation)