Sustainable biofuels: driving force for climate protection, food security and value creation in agriculture

The Union for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Plants (UFOP) is using the updated report on  Global Market Supply 2025/2026 as an opportunity to highlight the strategic importance of biofuels for food supply and for a sustainable and networked bioeconomy in terms of material use.
Biofuels from cultivated biomass make an important contribution in the European Union and globally to the defossilisation of transport in existing fleets and thus to climate protection.
However, according to UFOP, this statement presupposes that ambitious requirements for documented sustainability must be observed worldwide.
This begins with cultivation and extends through processing to application. It also includes intensive testing by national authorities.
With the amendment of the Renewable Energy Directive in 2023 (RED III), the European Union has continued the ‘level playing field’ that has existed since 2008, as can be seen from the further development of the principles of certification systems to be approved by the EU Commission. Greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction efficiency has also become a competitive factor over time.
Its importance is even increasing because, with the implementation of RED III, more Member States are introducing GHG quota regulations.
This benefits the sustainable cultivation of biomass regardless of its end use and is one of the goals of the national and European bioeconomy strategy.
This includes all products that are produced in the processing chain and add value. In the case of rapeseed, the UFOP points to rapeseed meal, which replaces soy imports, and glycerine produced during biodiesel production, which is used in the pharmaceutical industry.
The updated report on global market supply shows that there is sufficient global food supply – measured in terms of the food requirements of the world's population and taking into account biofuel production.
Raw materials for biofuel production are available as a ‘reserve’ in line with market demand. However, UFOP also points out that maintaining or increasing the supply of soy is less a matter of yield increases than of expanding the area under cultivation.
In this context, UFOP notes that Germany, with a cap of 4.4% for biofuels from cultivated biomass, is not exploiting the 5.8% cap possible under EU law and is advocating an increase in the current legislative process to amend the GHG Quota Act. It also points out that this upper limit does not apply to material use.
This opens up the option for biofuel plants to also supply vegetable oil esters and ethanol for green chemistry.
The report is being published in purely digital form for the first time this year. As with the current UFOP annual report, the association is relying on a dynamic web presentation in which the 37 illustrations in six chapters can be accessed in a format optimised for mobile and desktop displays. https://sr26.ufop.de