Fischler not optimistic on biofuel opportunities

Former EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler was less than optimistic about opportunities for the biofuel industry in Europe.

Not only was Europe less than competitive in raw material price terms with soya from South America or palm oil from South East Asia, but the land requirement for alternatives in Europe was too high, he suggested at the Agricultural Engineers’ Association annual conference this week.
Assuming a 10 per cent biofuel incorporation factor by 2020, he said the latest OECD figures indicated this would require around 50 per cent of Europe’s farmland being given over to fuel crops as opposed to food.

Not only that, but major developments in the biofuels industry in Europe faced the risk that huge amounts of taxpayers’ support would be needed to offset this overseas challenge and this might not be available.

He said a 10 per cent replacement strategy would only become possible through the introduction of second generation technology in biofuel production combined with increasing imports.

Farmers Guardian