Biofuel produced from municipal waste and plant by-products could replace more than half of gasoline used in the European Union by 2020, according to the latest analysis from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
According to the leading source of new energy analysis, Europe has a ‘golden opportunity’ to build a new industry in the production of transport fuels. The firm reports that countries in Europe could produce ethanol for transport fuel from plant waste left on the fields after the harvesting of crops and waste from landfill to offer ‘clean’ biofuel.
The study of this market opportunity concludes that, with the right policies from European Union governments, the 27 countries of the European Union could boast by 2020 a next‐generation ethanol industry with sales of €31 billion ($39 billion).
According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s new study, ‘Next‐Generation Ethanol & Biochemicals: What’s In It For Europe’, the environmental benefits of the industry could be equally striking. The report forecasts that next generation ethanol could displace more than half of forecast EU gasoline demand by 2020, and cut European greenhouse gas emissions from road transport gasoline by up to 50 per cent.
However the opportunity for Europe heavily depends on technologies continuing to progress and being able to produce fuel at scale and economically by the second half of this decade. Next generation ethanol involves converting biomass residues such as wheat straw, and municipal solid waste, via biological processes into a fuel that will substitute for gasoline (petrol). In the medium term, there would be further opportunities from converting this biomass into biochemicals. At present, ethanol is mostly manufactured using first-generation technology, from food crops such as wheat, corn and sugar.
Michael Liebreich, chief executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said: “The technologies for next-generation ethanol production are progressing, as are the economics. We believe Europe could see the construction of 100 or more refineries in Europe each year from 2013 onwards. The attractions are many – ranging from job creation, to lower transport emissions, to reduced dependence on crude oil
imports.”
To develop the industry for next-generation ethanol, the report recommends that a EU-wide mandate for next generation ethanol should be introduced, obliging fuel distributors to use a rising proportion of this product in their overall mix. The US already has such a mandate, laying down a rising share for next‐generation biofuels in the years 2009‐20. The second policy priority is to introduce financial incentives for farmers to collect a sustainable proportion – of the waste left on their fields after the harvest.
