4th BBE/UFOP – International Conference on BioFuels, 27th and 28th of September 2006, ICC Berlin
Biofuels assure mobility in Germany and Europe
Berlin, 27th of November – Biofuels belongs the future. Growing dependencies from mineral oil imports, increasing energy prices and the challenges of climate protection dispose more and more countries to define ambitious objectives for the development of their biofuels market and to create basic conditions for the necessary investments in this sector. The global demand for biofuels adept an unprecedented boom.
Because of an early access in the advancement of biofuels in Germany the development of a strong market for biofuels was possible. With a production capacity of more than 3 m t and an expected distribution of 2,5 m t in 2006 Germany is the world champion in the biodiesel market. More than 10% of the demand for diesel are provided by biodiesel and vegetable oils. Further on more than 500.000 t petrol are replaced by bioethanol. In the development of synthetic fuels out of biomass Germany on top in the world market. The utilisation of biogas in the mobile sector is raring to go.
More than 25.000 jobs have been created in this market sector. The starting boom on the international markets offer in addition enormous chances and employment potentials in the export market. Biofuels technologies “made in Germany” are in great demand.
But this success story is not self-evident. The higher production costs for biofuels have been absorbed by a preferential treatment in the mineral oil tax. But despite of the fact that the well-known ifo-institute has proven that the loss of taxes is over-compensated by Inland Revenue, creation of new jobs, contributions to the social fond etc. the German government decided a complete change of its support policy. As of 2007 a minimum quota with a full taxation will be implemented and the fiscal benefit for the filling of pure biofuels will be abandoned by stages.
The total change of the present support policy has to lead to a totally new evaluation of the biofuels market. Therefore on 27th and 28th of November in Berlin 850 representatives of the biofuels industry from more than 40 countries discussed about chances and risks of the new basic conditions in Germany.
The chairman of the German BioEnergy Association (BBE), Mr. Helmut Lamp, comes to a much differentiated picture: “The implementation of a quote for diesel and petrol indeed saves the distribution of biogenous fuels in the blend in the required amount, but the future of the important market of pure biofuels will be called into question.” Over 60% of the sales for biodiesel in 2005 took place in the market of pure biofuels, but already through the taxation of pure biodiesel with 9 cent/l since August 2006 the sales at the petrol stations broke in. A further increase of the tax rate would mean the end of the market for pure biofuels.
“That we do not agree with this regulation we expressed several times“, said the cairman of the board of the Union for the Promotion of Oil Seeds (UFOP), Dr. Klaus Kliem, to the new support policy. With the gradual reduction of the tax concessions for biodiesel and vegetable oil as pure fuel the biggest sales market will be abandoned.
Furthermore biofuels would not be noticed any more in the official perception like it is now in the 1.900 public petrol stations for biodiesel: ”Just now, as the environment an climate debate got an sensible financial dimension through the Stern-report, we have to strengthen the public consciousness for the utilisation of alternative fuels” , said Kliem.
For the development of synthetic biofuels, in which huge expectations are invested worldwide, the temporal limitation of support until 2015 offers a too little incentive for the necessary investments of several million Euros. Thereby it is liley that the development of biofuels of the second generation will be dislocated in foreign countries. “In that way a highly innovative sector in a segment of international future markets will be forced to move out of Germany and the domestic economy, as an initiator of substantial R&D-work, once again will be demoted to an observer.”, criticises Lamp.
The German Bioenergy Association (BBE) is the governing body of the bioenergy sector in Germany. Within BBE the specialized associations and companies of the biofuels sector are organised, amongst others the Union for the Promotion of Oil Seeds (UFOP), the Association of the Biofuels Industry (VDB), the Organisation for Agricultural Biofuels (LAB), the German Biogas Association and the German Farmers Union. The expert congress “Fuels of the Future”, which is organised by BBE and UFOP, is the annually convention of the biofuels industry and has established itself as a leading event in this sector in Europe.