Entretien : Les biocarburants confrontés à un "problème d'échelle"[en][de] 

At the March 2007 European Council, EU leaders committed to raising the share of biofuels in transport from current levels of around 4% to a binding minimum target of 10% by 2020, under the condition that their production is sustainable and that so-called 'second-generation biofuels' become commercially viable. 

These second-generation biofuels are fuels that could be obtained from ligno-cellulosic or 'woody' sources, such as straw, timber, woodchips or manure – contrary to first-generation biofuels, such as ethanol, which are reliant on food crops like corn, sugar beet, palm oil and rapeseed. 

Although second-generation biofuels appear more promising in terms of environmental sustainability, as they will not require us the allocation of arable land and food crops for energy production – a move which most say would raise food prices, endanger biodiversity and lead to large-scale deforestation – the technical processes required to convert these fibre-rich materials into liquid biofuels are still under development and it remains uncertain when they will become available (EurActiv 24/10/06). 

Carlos Cabrera, president and CEO of UOP, one of the leading companies in the development and licensing of processes and technologies for upgrading petroleum to end products, believes that second-generation fuels can play an important role in reducing CO2 emissions from transport. But, in an interview with EurActiv, he outlined a number of challenges that must be addressed before this can be achieved: 

• Moving away from first-generation biofuels and the 'scale problem'

The capacity of biofuels to contribute to the fight against climate change will not be determined by how effective the fuel itself is but by the amounts of fuel that can be produced, Cabrera said. While first-generation biofuels are capable of emitting less CO2 than conventional diesel and petrol, the impact they will have on the total transport fuel sector - compared to the impact they will have on the food sector - will be negligible, he explained. ''That's the scale problem: The amount of oil that gets consumed and refined every day is greater than the potential of the existing agricultural sector to supply it. Unless we go for the waste: If we went for the waste, then I think that there could be a substantial reduction. Half, maybe, two-thirds of CO2 emissions in the transport sector. A loss of biodiversity and large-scale deforestation – which in the long run, will lead to an increase in CO2 emissions – are also a risk present with the development of first generation biofuels'', he said. 

• Research and Incentives

Cabrera justified the slow development of second-generation biofuels, saying:''Reversing nature is not simple, even if you could do it…Unfortunately, technology is unpredictable. Sometimes you have breakthroughs, and sometimes you do not.'' But he adds: ''The real reason why I think that it is taking so long is because quite frankly there are no incentives yet, there is not an economic return. People have to take resources from other places to invest in these technologies, for which the outcome is uncertain at this point in time. And the investments needed are very large. It is a difficult problem.'' He believes that government incentives and investment can help: ''You do not create knowledge unless you put in enough resources. So, you need enough critical mass, and I think that that critical mass is just beginning to develop. If governments really want this to happen, we will need two or three times the level of investment than what we have today.'' 

• Infrastructure needs

The commercialisation of second-generation biofuels will not only require technological breakthroughs, it will also necessitate the development of a whole new infrastructure, Cabrera underlined. ''Both the technologies and the logistics are still at a very early stage. In the case of ligno-cellulosic waste, you would need to collect billions of leaves, so you need to have the infrastructure to collect all the agricultural waste, all the stock, all the grass that does not get used, etc, and bring it to some centre that processes it. We have done some work, but we are nowhere near an economic solution.''

• Breakthroughs and biotechnology

Cabrera believes that biotechnology could play a vital role in achieving a breakthrough in the development of biofuels. ''There is no question that biotechnology – if successful – can have a great impact, because you could then fundamentally change the characteristics of the product that you start with'', he said, although he points out that ''that also brings substantial moral and ethical questions, as well as consequences which are more difficult to predict, because when you begin to alter the way things grow or the way things reproduce, scientists think that they have control of things, but a life-cycle is very complicated''. 

• A feasible timeline? 

''I would say that a good, solid, viable technology, which is commercially demonstrated, and is of the scale to make an impact in the transportation sector, is probably a good five to ten years away'', said Cabrera.