EU in doubt over alternatives to oil - more reasons to consider a Biopact with Africa
Sometimes someone's doubts become someone else's certainties. The EU Commission just announced that neither hydrogen, nor biofuels or any alternative to replace oil in vehicles are entirely convincing at the moment. It adds that a long-term vision supported by carmakers and the oil industry is lacking.
Well here at the BioPact we saw this coming. At the turn of the century, a few years ago, the EU started looking at biofuels, and the enthusiasm for ethanol and biodiesel grew quickly. Then realism set it, and it became apparent that the EU simply doesn't have enough agricultural resources (especially land), to make the green transition. Today it is finally acknowledging that Europe will not get there alone. This is what we have been saying all along.
That's why we made our own proposition: cooperate with Africa, where land is plenty, investments in agriculture are needed, and where millions of poor farmers would gladly become energy farmers if they can produce for the world's largest economy.
Euractiv: Alternatives to replace oil in transport are "urgently needed" but a long-term vision on what technology is best suited to replace it is still up in the air, said Fabrizio Barbaso, Deputy Director General at the Commission's transport and energy department. Speaking at a conference on "Future Energy Sources for Transport" in Brussels, Barbaso indicated that the Commission had already identified three main candidates for the job - biofuels, natural gas, and hydrogen.
But he said each one of these present "tremendous technological challenges" that are just starting to be addressed, for instance by joint EU research efforts such as technology platforms (on biofuels, hydrogen, etc.). Natural gas currently enjoys little support from automakers or the oil industry, meaning the technology would need heavy subsidies to be maintained in the contest for oil substitution.
Transport accounts for some 71% of all oil consumption in the EU, according to the Commission. But the automotive sector alone is 98% dependent on oil, according to the French national petroleum institute (IFP). In its Green Paper: "Towards a European Strategy for the Security of Energy Supply" (2000), the Commission set out an objective to substitute 20% of traditional automotive fuels with alternatives by the year 2020. A year later, the Commission presented a communication on alternative fuels, identifying three potential alternative ranges of fuels as the most promising: biofuels, natural gas and hydrogen (see Euractiv's Dossier
on alternative fuels).
"My feeling is that we have not yet reached [an agreement on] policies largely supported by all parties," Barbaso said. And until significant progress is made, he said the Commission considers energy efficiency as its "number one priority".
A revision of the Commission's long term strategy (White paper) on transport is due to be presented on 22 June. The new document, seen by EurActiv, for the first time introduces a section on energy. It recommends action be pursued on various fronts, such as reducing fuel consumption, supporting research and bringing mature new technologies to the market through standard setting and regulations (such as Euro 5).
But it also recognises that much is still to be agreed at EU level, in particular under the European energy policy currently in the early stages of definition.
Positions:
Anders Röj, a fuels expert with Volvo and head of fuels and lubricants at the European car manufacturer lobby ACEA, said industry needs long term certainty on technologies if it is to make the right investment choices. "We cannot have [a different] fuel of the year" every time, he said. He indicated that so-called second generation biofuels based on biomass gasification were currently the most efficient and less costly type of alternative fuels. But he added that easier access to new biomass resources should be provided, together with the related logistics. The aim, he said, should be to develop an "integrated biorefinery" concept by 2020 that can integrate different production options for biofuels.
Carmakers and oil companies are busy trying to develop more energy-efficient cars. Every year, Shell organises a fuel economy competition for students and semi professional independent teams. The 2006 edition was won by an ethanol-powered vehicle and was attended by EU energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.
Volvo recently presented a new "Multi-Fuel" prototype car that can run on five different fuels: hythane (10% hydrogen and 90% methane), biomethane, compressed natural gas (CNG), E85 bioethanol (85% bioethanol and 15% petrol) and petrol.
Chemicals manufacturer DuPont and oil major BP on 20 June announced that they developed a new biofuel called 'biobutanol', which they say produces 30% more energy than ethanol. According to the two companies, biobutanol can be blended with traditional in proportions higher than 10% without making changes to engine technology. Current engines are said to be able to cope with biofuel blends of up to 10%.
Euractiv.
Well here at the BioPact we saw this coming. At the turn of the century, a few years ago, the EU started looking at biofuels, and the enthusiasm for ethanol and biodiesel grew quickly. Then realism set it, and it became apparent that the EU simply doesn't have enough agricultural resources (especially land), to make the green transition. Today it is finally acknowledging that Europe will not get there alone. This is what we have been saying all along.
That's why we made our own proposition: cooperate with Africa, where land is plenty, investments in agriculture are needed, and where millions of poor farmers would gladly become energy farmers if they can produce for the world's largest economy.
Euractiv: Alternatives to replace oil in transport are "urgently needed" but a long-term vision on what technology is best suited to replace it is still up in the air, said Fabrizio Barbaso, Deputy Director General at the Commission's transport and energy department. Speaking at a conference on "Future Energy Sources for Transport" in Brussels, Barbaso indicated that the Commission had already identified three main candidates for the job - biofuels, natural gas, and hydrogen.
But he said each one of these present "tremendous technological challenges" that are just starting to be addressed, for instance by joint EU research efforts such as technology platforms (on biofuels, hydrogen, etc.). Natural gas currently enjoys little support from automakers or the oil industry, meaning the technology would need heavy subsidies to be maintained in the contest for oil substitution.
Transport accounts for some 71% of all oil consumption in the EU, according to the Commission. But the automotive sector alone is 98% dependent on oil, according to the French national petroleum institute (IFP). In its Green Paper: "Towards a European Strategy for the Security of Energy Supply" (2000), the Commission set out an objective to substitute 20% of traditional automotive fuels with alternatives by the year 2020. A year later, the Commission presented a communication on alternative fuels, identifying three potential alternative ranges of fuels as the most promising: biofuels, natural gas and hydrogen (see Euractiv's Dossier
on alternative fuels).
"My feeling is that we have not yet reached [an agreement on] policies largely supported by all parties," Barbaso said. And until significant progress is made, he said the Commission considers energy efficiency as its "number one priority".
A revision of the Commission's long term strategy (White paper) on transport is due to be presented on 22 June. The new document, seen by EurActiv, for the first time introduces a section on energy. It recommends action be pursued on various fronts, such as reducing fuel consumption, supporting research and bringing mature new technologies to the market through standard setting and regulations (such as Euro 5).
But it also recognises that much is still to be agreed at EU level, in particular under the European energy policy currently in the early stages of definition.
Positions:
Anders Röj, a fuels expert with Volvo and head of fuels and lubricants at the European car manufacturer lobby ACEA, said industry needs long term certainty on technologies if it is to make the right investment choices. "We cannot have [a different] fuel of the year" every time, he said. He indicated that so-called second generation biofuels based on biomass gasification were currently the most efficient and less costly type of alternative fuels. But he added that easier access to new biomass resources should be provided, together with the related logistics. The aim, he said, should be to develop an "integrated biorefinery" concept by 2020 that can integrate different production options for biofuels.
Carmakers and oil companies are busy trying to develop more energy-efficient cars. Every year, Shell organises a fuel economy competition for students and semi professional independent teams. The 2006 edition was won by an ethanol-powered vehicle and was attended by EU energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.
Volvo recently presented a new "Multi-Fuel" prototype car that can run on five different fuels: hythane (10% hydrogen and 90% methane), biomethane, compressed natural gas (CNG), E85 bioethanol (85% bioethanol and 15% petrol) and petrol.
Chemicals manufacturer DuPont and oil major BP on 20 June announced that they developed a new biofuel called 'biobutanol', which they say produces 30% more energy than ethanol. According to the two companies, biobutanol can be blended with traditional in proportions higher than 10% without making changes to engine technology. Current engines are said to be able to cope with biofuel blends of up to 10%.
Euractiv.
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