– If a biofuel reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 70 percent compared to fossil fuels it deserves to be called advanced, regardless of feedstock or production technology, says Gustav Melin, CEO of Svebio, the Swedish Bioenergy Association, as his organisation prepares for the Advanced Biofuels Conference (ABC) in Gothenburg later this week.
The most important issue is to reduce the climate impact of the transport sector and to do it at lowest possible cost. Biomass is available in large quantities both from agriculture, forestry, and from different wastes and residues. With the right incentives, all these sources can be mobilised to solve the climate challenge. To convert the transport sector from fossil fuels to renewable fuels is a major challenge, but necessary to reach the targets agreed upon in Paris 2015, said Gustav Melin.
A number of technologies are being developed by companies and researchers around the world. Many of these projects will be presented in Gothenburg, Sweden this week at the Advanced Biofuels Conference (ABC) that is about solutions both for road transport, aviation and marine.
A number of study tours will take place, in and around Gothenburg. One example is the Preem refinery, where biodiesel based on tall oil from the forest industry is processed. Another is St1, producing ethanol from starch-rich food waste from bakeries. A visit will also take place at GoBiGas, the world’s largest unit for gasification of biomass to biomethane.
Sweden is already well ahead on the road to a renewable transportation sector. In 2016 almost 19 percent of all road transportation fuels were biofuels.
We are convinced Sweden can produce biomass enough for all sectors. Food, materials and smart biofuels to cover all needs in an efficient transportation sector, ended Melin.
