EU energy chief once again highlights biofuels as a solution to oil crisis

The EU needs to ramp up domestic production of biofuels such as renewable ethanol as a solution for energy security, according to European Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen.

“We need to create an environment that supports sufficient domestic fuel production in Europe as well as long-term viability of European refining as the EU decarbonizes,” Jørgensen said at a high-level meeting with European fuel refiners. “Looking further into the future, refineries and new entrants need to embark on a pathway of producing more bio and e-fuels.”

This follows calls from Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron for Europe to increase domestic production of biofuels and explore options for increasing their blending into petrol in order to reduce EU dependence on foreign oil. EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra confirmed that the EU is considering revising the Fuel Quality Directive to allow E20 petrol blend with up to 20% renewable ethanol.

Clearly, in a time of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, EU leaders are starting to see the wisdom of replacing foreign oil with homegrown renewable biofuels.

The European public already supports the idea, according to recent surveys that find EU citizens overwhelmingly want flexibility in the energy transition – and see domestically produced renewable energy as a win-win for Europe.

Replacing foreign fossil oil with domestic renewable ethanol is an immediate, sustainable, cost-effective and socially inclusive solution to the energy crisis, and also to achieving EU ambitions for transport decarbonization. Europe’s ethanol industry is ready to work with EU policymakers to put actions behind these welcome words.