Concawe Review 34.1
The oil supply crisis and closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the US-Iran war, and the summer heatwaves and wildfires are prompting European leaders to accelerate the energy transition, to reduce dependency on fossil crude oil and to accelerate the use of local renewable energy. This Review is focused on the potential contribution of our industry to these objectives.
Advanced biofuels can contribute to both European energy security and decarbonisation of transport: several studies, including those undertaken by Concawe and also by the European Commission, have shown the importance of their potential availability in Europe. The first article of this Review summarises a study, conducted by Concawe together with Utrecht University and TNO, which investigates Europe’s potential biomass-to-advanced-biofuel supply chains under different biomass availability and demand scenarios.
For some time, algae have been considered to be an important potential source of additional biomass to contribute to the decarbonisation of transport, although their development level has remained low. The second article presents the results of a literature review assessing the current state of the algae industry, and examines the challenges and opportunities of various algae-to-liquid biofuel pathways and their economic feasibility and sustainability performance.
The formation of contrails and contrail cirrus from aircraft exhaust vapour emissions have been identified as having an impact on global warming in the same order of magnitude as aircraft CO2 emissions. The European Union is investigating the potential for tighter controls over the constituents of jet fuel that have been identified as contributors to the formation of contrails, i.e. sulphur, aromatics and naphthalenes. The third article reviews how fuel composition can influence contrail formation and climate, and assesses the impact of a change in fuel specifications on existing refineries and jet fuel availability.
The last article provides a synthesis of an S&P Global Commodity Insights study commissioned by Concawe to assess the potential evolution of Europe’s refining and liquid fuel production industry under two scenarios, both of which lead to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2025. The first scenario assumes a rapid and unprecedented electrification across transport modes, and the second relies more on low-carbon and renewable fuels along with a reduced emphasis on electrification.
Jean-Marc Sohier
Concawe Director