On the road to greater biodiesel usage

Major European industry associations in the biodiesel sector are organising the 1st B+ Summit, to be held on 26, 27 and 28 April in Estoril, Portugal.
The conference will bring together representatives from the European industry as well as Portuguese and European Union decision-makers.
The summit will be an open high-level dialogue between market and policymakers in a crucial year in terms of EU regulatory output, aiming at stepping up the EU’s decarbonisation ambitions.
More than 200 industry delegates are expected to participate in the conference and take stock of how higher biodiesel blends help the decarbonsation of European roads in the short, medium and long-term, while also helping the EU economy.
Conference participants will include representatives from heavy duty bus and truck transportation companies, fuel blenders, producers of biodiesel, HVO, synfuels and other green substitutes of fossil diesel. There will also be politicians, NGOs, vehicle manufacturers (OEMs), heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) associations and manufacturers and journalists in attendance.
All with have a keen interest in the rapid and cost-effective decarbonisation of the road freight and passenger HDV sector.
During the three-day conference, multiple high biodiesel blends topics will be tackled, namely the case for B+ use, B+ pioneers, case studies from B+ equipment and the necessary regulatory framework for the uptake of B+, HVO and other renewable fuels.
Main advantages
A key benefit of higher biodiesel blends is that they are already being used in existing diesel engines with minimal to no modifications and without any additional costly investments in existing road infrastructure.
The scale at which they can be used over the coming decades is huge. Higher blends can be deployed quickly and easily by HDVs operators, without expensive upgrades to their fleets.
Biodiesel, as well as HVO, synfuels and other green fuels produced from sustainable feedstocks can be blended with fossil diesel in any proportion up to 100% and they are already used today with significant success to lower the road transport emissions of specific fleets by 60 – 90%.
The European Commission has recently proposed revised European CO₂ standards for these vehicles. The renewed ambition is welcome and the green fuels sector is the one that can faster and better respond to it due to its compatibility with existing fleets – provided that the final text allows it to contribute properly, instead of leaving it out on technicalities, prejudices and non-scientific political choices.
Higher biodiesel blends are needed and indeed worthy of public promotion by the EU legislator, just as electromobility is, especially for light duty vehicles.
Their decarbonisation potential (up to 90% GHG reduction when compared to fossil fuels) and circular economy benefits, make them a particularly powerful tool to significantly reduce emissions in the heavy duty sector.
The benefits of higher biodiesel blends in this sector also bring economic advantages to different relevant economic sectors, whilst lowering imports of fossil fuels, boosting energy security and reducing the risk of supply disruptions.
Our organisation, as a promoter of this high-level conference, the first of its kind, is looking forward to welcome all interested stakeholders to join us in Estoril on 26, 27 and 28 April, to discuss these issues and other exciting high blends topics during the 1st B+ Summit.

For more information: Visit: ewaba.eu, europeanbplussummit.com and aba-bioenergia.pt