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Foreword

The Renewable Energy Directive (2018/2001) contains the Annex IX which lists the feedstocks that receive special treatment for the purposes of the RED II transport target. The European Commission has reviewed this list set out in Parts A (advanced biofuels) and B (UCO and animal fats) of the Annex to include intermediate crops (i.e. cover, catch and rotation crops – see page 43 or the directive for full definitions) and crops grown on severely degraded land. Despite declaring that the technology is not developed enough to process these crops into aviation fuels, the Commission proceeded to include them in Part A of Annex IX for such end-uses. The categorization was based on final fuel use, with these crops also added in Part B in case they were to be used for production of fuel intended for other transport sectors such as biodiesel, bioethanol, and biogas.

Two association bodies, EWABA (European Waste-based & Advanced Biofuels Association) and EBB (European Biodiesel Board), came forward to welcome the addition of the new feedstocks in the revised Annex IX. However, EWABA argues that such introduction might create an uneven level-playing field across sectors and challenges the principle of technology neutrality as the Commission itself has declared that the technology is premature for aviation fuels. They add that the manufacturers might be inadvertently motivated to use more intermediate crops for aviation fuels and therefore neglect difficult-to-decarbonize sectors such as such as heavy-duty road and maritime. EBB echoes the views of EWABA with regards to the division in the regulatory treatment of these feedstocks, and it adds that the EU Commission should be seeking clarifications and provide the interested parties with detailed definitions of these new feedstocks to ensure correct implementation and traceability governance.

Here at NNFCC, we have undertaken several projects looking at biomass feedstock availability in the UK, with a particular focus on industrial food processing residues and wastes. Wastes are defined as “any substance or object that the holder discards or intends or is required to discard”, whereas residues are “substances that are not the end product(s) that a production process directly seeks to produce”... 

Other News this Month Includes:

Policy

• Amending Annex IX to Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards adding feedstock for the production of biofuels and biogas
• EWABA Press Release on Annex IX revision
• More...

Markets

• Industrial food processing residues and wastes as high-value feedstocks
• Repsol and Bunge create a partnership in Spain to boost supply of renewable fuels
• More...

Research & Development

• US DOE announces US$29m FOA for feedstock innovation
• New research pathway uses renewable electricity to produce formic acid from carbon dioxide

Wood & Crop

• Drax partners with Molpus Woodlands to fuel US BECCS operations
• Origin materials converts wood residue feedstock into sustainable intermediates at commercial-scale plan

Biorefinery

• Gela, Europe's most innovative biorefinery is Italian 
• Food, Feed and Fuel for the EU: Realising the potential of renewable ethanol biorefineries for a more autonomous Europe
• More...

Other feedstocks

• Borealis and AKVA launch workboat from renewable feedstock-based plastic
• Nike in biofuel deal with CMA CGM, despite feedstock concerns

Events

Feedstock Prices