The 23rd International Conference “Fuels of the Future 2026 – Turbocharge, Take Off with Renewables” came to an upbeat close on January 20, 2026, in Berlin, Germany. Over 620 experts from politics, business, science, and associations took advantage of the two-day event to discuss the role of renewable fuels in climate-neutral mobility and to identify specific actions needed to ramp up the market.
The first major international annual biofuels conference of 2026, the 23rd edition of the “Fuels of the Future” conference, was a seemingly upbeat affair. Jointly organized by Bundesverband Bioenergie e.V (BBE), Union for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Plants (UFOP), German Bioethanol Industry Association (BDBe), Fachverband Biogas, and Association of the German Biofuels Industry (VDB), the annual event draws industrial stakeholders across the European biofuels and advanced biofuels spectrum.
In addition to the German Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder’s presentation of the federal government’s ideas for climate-friendly mobility, the first day of the conference focused primarily on the political, regulatory, and economic framework conditions for the increased use of renewable fuels.
Discussions covered current developments in the German national implementation of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), the further development of the greenhouse gas (GHG) quota to certification requirements, fraud prevention, and investment security.
Raise the crop-based biofuel quota
Industry representatives welcomed the German government’s cabinet decision on the further development of the greenhouse gas quota. They said it provided important impetus for investment and strengthened fraud prevention.
However, delegates added that the upper limit for sustainable biofuels from cultivated biomass needed to be raised to exploit the existing potential of biofuels.
In addition, climate protection requires higher blends of bioethanol and biodiesel in the short term to maintain the climate protection contribution of biofuels despite declining fuel consumption.
This requires greater flexibility in existing protection regulations for gasoline and diesel.
There was agreement among the conference participants that sustainable biofuels are already making a decisive contribution to short-term greenhouse gas reductions and are “indispensable as an immediately available solution for existing vehicle fleets and infrastructures.”
In addition, the market ramp-up of advanced biofuels and synthetic fuels must be accelerated. This requires technology-neutral instruments such as crediting of renewable fuels toward carbon dioxide (CO2) fleet limits and reliable long-term quota regulations.
Proven technologies exist
At the end of the conference, the industry drew a positive conclusion. The technical solutions are available and have been tried and tested in practice – now it is a matter of shaping the political and regulatory framework so that further investment is encouraged and higher proportions of renewable fuels can actually be brought onto the market.
According to the organizers, the “Fuels of the Future 2026” conference once again “confirmed its role as a central dialogue platform for technology-neutral, climate-friendly mobility and as a source of inspiration for politics and business.”
The 24th “Fuels of the Future” will take place on January 18-19, 2027, at the CityCube in Berlin, Germany.
