Interview with Lars Christian Hansen, Chair of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBTP)

Could you explain in a few words what the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBTP) is, and what its role is?

The European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBTP) was established in 2006 to contribute to the development of cost-competitive world class biofuels technologies and accelerate the deployment of sustainable biofuels in the European Union, allowing the development of a healthy biofuels industry, through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, development and demonstration activities (RD&D).

It brings together the knowledge and expertise of stakeholders active in the biofuels value chains: biomass resource providers, biofuels and bio-energy producers, technology vendors, transport fuels marketers, road transport industry, research and technology development organisations and NGOs. It is managed by a Steering Committee and supported by a Secretariat, with the European Commission as an active observer. Stakeholders can register and share access to key contacts, internal and external reports, events, opinions and expertise on biofuels R&D. Platform activities are carried out through six working groups (covering feedstocks, conversion, end-use, sustainability, markets and regulations) as well as Task Forces on specific topics (e.g. algae).

What have been some of the initiatives of the EBTP since it was set up, and how successful would you say these have been?

A key achievement of EBTP was the publication of the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) in January 2008 and its update in July 2010. In January 2008, EBTP presented a collective view of the main Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) priorities and accompanying deployment measures required for a successful implementation of sustainable and competitive biofuels in the EU. However, significant evolution has been ongoing since then and new topics have emerged with considerable influence on biofuels development.

In view of the EU 2020 climate and energy targets, the purpose of the SRA 2010 update (http://www.biofuelstp.eu/sra.html) has been to present a synthetic view of the most significant recent developments and key issues that drive, shape and enable biofuels developments (regulations, sustainability, feedstocks and technology), and to highlight corresponding RD&D priorities.

Another main focus has been the development of the European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative (EIBI) in the frame of the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan). The EIBI was formally launched at the SET-Plan Conference, under the Belgian Council Presidency, on 15-16 November 2010. EBTP has actively contributed to shaping the EIBI, which will support demonstration and flagship projects for innovative bioenergy value chains with large market potential via public private partnership. This exercise has been performed in close collaboration with the European Commission, in particular with DG Research and Innovation and DG Energy.

In addition, EBTP actively pursues networking activities to identify and create synergies with other ongoing biofuels-related R&D activities. The aim is to intensify information exchange with national policy makers, the EU Commission, key industries and the research community. Cooperation also involves ERA-Nets, other Technology Platforms and other existing European projects, such as Star-COLIBRI (aiming at more coherent biorefinery R&D activities) and Becoteps (aiming at the coordination of TPs in the KBBE area).

Finally, Stakeholder Plenary Meetings are organised annually to inform stakeholders about the latest developments in the biofuels R&D sector, to discuss current scientific and market implementation issues, and to present the work of EBTP and its activities.

How do biofuels and biomass fit into the European Strategic Energy Technology (SET) - Plan?

Biofuels and bioenergy play a prominent role in the SET-Plan. Ensuring that advanced biofuel technologies provide competitive alternatives to fossil fuels, while respecting the sustainability of their production, was identified as one of the key EU technology challenges for the next 10 years in order to meet EU 2020 energy targets.

According to the EU 2020 Climate and Energy Package, bioenergy will play a key role in the EU long-term energy strategy for all applications and especially the transport sector, contributing up to 14 % of the EU energy mix and up to 10 % of energy demand in transport.
Among the tools envisaged for the implementation of the SET-Plan, European Industrial Initiatives (EII) are expected to play a critical role. The European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative (EIBI), in which EBTP is deeply involved, is one of the 6 priority EIIs of the SET-Plan. Its key objective is to accelerate the commercial development of sustainable bioenergy to reach 14% of final energy demand in 2020. EIBI supports large-scale advanced bioenergy and advanced biofuel plants, which are expected to cover about 4% of EU transportation needs by 2020.

Are we on target to meet the EC requirement of a 10% share of biofuels in transport by 2020? How is the EBTP involved in meeting these targets?

According to EurObserv'ER, the biofuels share in road transport in 2009 was 4 %. So the challenges are considerable for Member States to meet the 2020 targets under current business and regulatory conditions. Currently, commercially deployed feedstocks and conversion technologies already provide a significant contribution. The ambitious EU 2020 targets, however, are unlikely to be met if relying only on these conventional biofuels. Hence there is a need to develop so-called advanced biofuels, to enlarge the feedstock base and to use the existing feedstocks more efficiently. Corresponding technologies and value chains will have to be developed to a commercial level, and will make use of additional feedstock sources, e.g. lignocellulosic biomass, such as agricultural and forestry residues.
To address these challenges, EBTP concentrates its efforts on shaping the EIBI which focuses on  innovative value chains – the combination of feedstocks, conversion technologies and end products that have the potential to deliver significant additional amount of bioenergy (including advanced biofuels) by 2020.

However, whether the EU 2020 targets will be achieved depends not only on technology development and industrial investment, but also on feedstock availability (given increasing competition for biomass resources and sustainability issues), and clear and stable political frameworks, as well as on relevant public financial support to manage the risks and share the financing.

The recent EC Communication on renewable energy predicts that second generation biofuels will only play a small part in renewables for transport up to 2020. What are the most promising avenues of research on second generation biofuels, and what might the time-scale be for their commercial use?

Because of the variety of potential feedstocks at global and EU levels, different conversion technologies are needed based on mechanical, thermochemical, biological and chemical processes. The biomass feedstock situation across the EU is very diverse, and different policies exist on promotion of biofuels. This creates differentiated economic values for the same products across the Member States. Because of this, and the fact that corresponding regulations are not yet stable, it is not possible to point directly at priority technologies whose development would ensure that the 10% target can be met. Market introduction will be easiest for biofuels that are fully fungible, i.e. can be blended easily with fuels currently on the market. However, there are also opportunities for niche value chains that can be successfully exploited in a more distributed manner, where there is a favourable combination of feedstock (for example, forestry/paper mill residues) and end use (for example, freight fleets).

The winning options will be the pathways that best address combined strategic and sustainability targets: environmental performance, security and diversification of energy supply, economic competitiveness and public acceptance. For innovative biofuels value chains, applied R&D should focus mainly on supporting pilot, demonstration and first industrial deployment of technologies, allowing feedstock flexibility, enhanced conversion efficiency and/or higher added value end products, in full compliance with EU sustainability targets.

Value chains leveraging on industrial synergies with existing facilities deserve priority attention as they might offer the best economic and industrial framework to manage the high risk/high cost of deploying promising new technologies, thereby helping the transition from conventional to advanced biofuels. These challenges have been addressed by the industry in recent years. Today the technology is ready and industry is eager to move forward. It is crucial now to put policies in place boosting industry’s confidence that the market will be there.

How is the sustainability of agriculture for biofuels being safeguarded, and how is EBTP involved in this?

With the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and the Fuel Quality Directive (FQD), legal requirements for biofuel sustainability were introduced in the EU in June 2009. Although these directives provide a certain legal framework for biofuels and had to be implemented by Member States by 5 December 2010, practical implementation is still under development and many questions remain open. EBTP identified sustainability, along the whole value chain, as a key challenge for biofuels in its Strategic Research Agenda where policy and R&D recommendations were presented, e.g. the need to strengthen public funding of R&D on sustainability related criteria, data and models to support corresponding legislation (http://www.biofuelstp.eu/srasdd/SRA_2010_update_web.pdf).

How do you see the role of SETIS in relation to the mission of EBTP?

Close collaboration and information exchange between key stakeholders and also between stakeholders and the public is crucial to ensure that European energy targets are well achieved. SETIS is an important tool to achieve transparency and to overcome fragmentation of many diverse information sources. In this context, SETIS supports EBTP’s mission.