EWABA welcomes additional feedstocks in RED annex, expresses concerns

The European Waste-based & Advanced Biofuels Association welcomed the long-awaited inclusion of additional feedstocks in Annex IX of the Renewable Energy Directive.

This feedstock expansion will generally broaden the availability of waste-based and advanced biofuels for all transport modes and alleviate part of the pressure on some feedstocks used to produce waste-based biofuels, which have been subject to a high degree of focus.

EWABA members highlighted that the introduction of intermediate/cover crops for the supply of fuels exclusively for the aviation industry in part A of Annex IX will have “negative consequences as it interferes with the level playing field across sectors and challenges the principle of technology neutrality,” which they said is a crucial pillar for investment certainty.

“We believe that the extra incentive for intermediate/cover crops will direct them towards the aviation industry to the detriment of their use in other hard-to-decarbonize sectors, such as heavy-duty road and especially the maritime sector.”

Given the extremely significant potential availability of the new feedstocks populating Annex IX—the combined potential volumes of the new proposed feedstocks for part B are well over 100 million tons in 2030, whereas the 1.7% limit represents only 6 million-plus tons—the association said it expects the European Commission to issue without delay a separate delegated act eliminating the Annex IX Part B limitation, which goes against the feedstock expansion proposed under the revised list.

“Broadening the feedstock base for biofuels production is in itself positive news,” said Angel Alvarez Alberdi, EWABA’s secretary general.

“The revision will hopefully reduce the pressure felt by the whole industry by the significant demand of waste-derived feedstocks,” Alberdi said.

The last-minute addition of intermediate/cover crops only for aviation in part A is very surprising,” Alberdi added, “and has strongly unsettled many of our members who see a clear discrimination against other transport sectors.”

EWABA is a Brussels-based association representing the interests of the European waste-based and advanced biofuels industry before EU institutions, national governments, industry, civil society and the media.

The organization promotes the inclusion of waste-based and advanced biofuels in the EU fuel mix as a sustainable means of reducing greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions in EU transport.

Its more than 55 members are active in most EU member states.

They collect and use waste and advanced feedstocks listed in parts A and B of Annex IX of RED to produce sustainable biodiesel with the highest GHG savings (up to 90-plus percent) when compared with fossil fuels, enabling near-term decarbonization of the EU road and maritime transport sectors.