Reliable political framework conditions, swift implementation of the GHG amendment: At the “Fuels of the Future” technical congress, the industry discusses possibilities for achieving the climate targets in the transport sector.
According to the assessment of the bioenergy industry, the transport sector is under considerable time pressure to achieve its climate targets. Renewable fuels play a central role in this, the organizers of the 23rd International Specialist Congress “Fuels of the Future” explained to journalists. From the industry’s perspective, this primarily requires reliable political framework conditions and a rapid implementation of the planned amendment of the greenhouse gas reduction (GHG) quota.
The specialist congress is organized by Bundesverband
Bioenergie (BBE), Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen (UFOP), Bundesverband der deutschen Bioethanolwirtschaft (BDBe), Verband der deutschen
Biokraftstoffindustrie (VDB), and Fachverband Biogas (FvB).
At the center of the discussion in the run-up to the event was the draft law on the further development of the GHG quota, which the Federal Cabinet adopted on December 10 of last year (see also p. 11). The law is intended to transpose the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive, the so-called RED III, into national law. In the view of the BBE, however, the draft in its current form is not sufficient to safeguard climate protection targets in the transport sector. In addition, Germany risks clearly missing the implementation deadline for RED III, explained Marlene Mortler, Chair of the Executive Board of the BBE.
Mortler welcomed the fact that the Federal Government has provided for the abolition of double counting for certain advanced biofuels. This is a central step in order to reduce incentives for fraud and to increase physical demand for biofuels. According to the BBE’s assessment, falsified sustainability certificates and insufficient controls continue to burden the market. “If counterfeit biodiesel is imported, large sums flow abroad while domestic industry is weakened,” warned Claudius da Costa Gomez, Chief Executive Officer of the FvB.
At the same time, Mortler cautioned: “Rules alone are not enough.” Measures for fraud prevention would have to take effect by 2026 at the latest. In addition, the increase in the GHG quota planned for 2028 should be brought forward to the year 2027 in order to offset existing production surpluses.
Another point of criticism concerns the utilization of the potential of domestic biofuels. According to figures from the BBE, the permissible biofuel blending rate in 2024 was 4.4 percent, but only 1.9 percent was actually used. Mortler spoke of squandered climate protection and called for a gradual increase of the upper limit to the EU-wide permissible 5.8 percent. Otherwise, declining production volumes and the loss of capacities in Germany would be imminent.
Biofuels would remain particularly important in areas where full electrification is not foreseeable, Mortler explained. These include heavy-duty transport, agriculture, and the existing vehicle fleet with internal combustion engines. According to data from the Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung (BLE) (Federal Office for Agriculture and Food), sustainable biofuels avoided around 11.5 million metric tons of CO2 in 2024. The average greenhouse gas reduction compared to fossil fuels amounted to 96 percent.
VDB Managing Director Elmar Baumann called for the crediting of biogenic hydrogen toward the GHG quota. The exclusion of biogenic hydrogen and the use of biomethane in refineries is not justifiable under European law. Biogenic hydrogen could be available in the short term and represents a cost-effective option for the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy. This should be taken into account in the Bundesimmissions-schutzgesetz (BImschG).
At a higher level, the industry is calling for a comprehensive fuel strategy for the entire transport sector, including aviation and shipping. While there are numerous concepts for the expansion of renewable electricity generation, a comparable overarching concept for liquid and gaseous fuels is lacking.
Stefan Walter, Managing Director of the BDBe, pointed to problems with the planned European Union database (UDB) for sustainability certificates. While the German database functions, there is no connection to the European system. Double recording is not reasonable for companies. In addition, the European database showed significant data protection problems in initial tests. Walter assessed it positively, however, that the Federal Ministry for the Environment continues the development of the GHG quota in the draft law beyond the year 2030 and thus outlines long-term development pathways.
