Monitoring the deployment of advanced biofuel demonstration facilities

Feb 2025
Publications

Decarbonizing the transport sector is critical for achieving global climate and energy targets due to its significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on fossil fuels. Biofuels, in particular advanced biofuels, play a particularly important role in decarbonizing transport and increasing the share of renewable energy in the transport sector by providing a low-carbon solution for both near-term and long-term challenges.

IEA Bioenergy Task 39 deals with ‘Biofuels to Decarbonize Transport’. Within this expert network a database on facilities for the production of advanced liquid and gaseous biofuels for transport was established and has monitored the developments since 2009 (see https://demoplants.best-research.eu/ ). This database comprises facilities which are producing advanced biofuels via the technologies Alcohol-to-Jet, E-Fuels Biomass Hybrids, Fast Pyrolysis, Fermentation, Gasification, Hydrothermal Liquefaction, Hydrotreatment and others. The latest update of the database was completed in November 2024. At that stage the database comprised 258 active entries, related to the different technologies listed above.

This report provides insights from the monitoring and data collection on advanced biofuel demonstration facilities throughout the years.

Download the full report “Monitoring the deployment of advanced biofuel demonstration facilities”

The main (and most advanced) technologies used for advanced biofuel production are hydrotreatment of oils and fatty acids, fermentation to cellulosic ethanol, gasification followed by FT-synthesis and fast pyrolysis. Of these technologies, hydrotreatment is the most commercialized with many production facilities around the globe and the highest production capacities. Hydrotreatment facilities are also the main production facilities for sustainable aviation fuels.

Co-processing of fats, oils and lipids in existing refineries and retrofitting of existing refineries for the processing of these feedstocks is gaining more importance. Another technology option which is increasing in number of (planned) facilities is the combination of e-fuel production and biomass use – so-called E-fuels biomass hybrid facilities.

Feedstock availability is a critical factor in the production of biofuels, as it determines both the scalability and sustainability of fuel production. While oil-based residues, such as used cooking oil and animal fats, are valuable for current biofuel technologies, their limited supply poses a significant challenge to meeting future demand. To address this, biomass residues, including agricultural waste, forestry by-products, and other organic materials, present a promising alternative, and their potential needs to be unlocked by the development, demonstration and commercialization of advanced biofuels production technologies.

Scaling up advanced biofuel production is a global challenge that requires addressing environmental, social, and economic sustainability. This process can be accelerated through international collaboration and knowledge exchange. Demonstrating and scaling up biofuel technologies is crucial to achieving the large production volumes needed to meet global decarbonization targets, especially in sectors that are hard to electrify, such as aviation, shipping, and heavy-duty transport. Without advancing these technologies and expanding production capacity, the full potential of biofuels to contribute to a sustainable energy future will remain untapped.

  • Advantages of advanced biofuels: Advanced biofuels pose many advantages like the variety of technologies and feedstocks/residues that can be used, the possible integration in existing fleets and infrastructure and their high energy density and storability.
  • Need for commercialization: For commercialization of advanced biofuels it is necessary to demonstrate and scale-up, as well as building up capacity and production volumes. The reduction of costs and financial risks is essential and long-term policies and comprehensive strategies are needed to lead the way to commercialization.
  • Promising opportunities and developments: The promising opportunities and positive developments for advanced biofuels are the increasing demand and production in emerging economies and the defossilization in long-distance transport, like in the aviation, maritime and heavy-duty sector.

Facilities of advanced biofuels in the Task 39 database.