Summary yearly report Energy for Transport 2018
Companies that supply fuels for the Dutch transport market have an obligation to deliver an annually increasing share of renewable energy, rising to 16.4% in 2020. These companies also need to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of their delivered fuels with 6% in 2020. The NEa publishes an annual report on the progress of these two obligations on a national level.
Increased annual obligation 2018 complied with
In 2018 the annual obligation increased more than in previous years, due to modifications in legislation. These changes have, amongst other things, resulted in a broader scope of fuel deliveries to fall under the annual obligation: besides diesel and petrol delivered to road- and rail transport, the annual obligations now also applies to diesel and petrol delivered to non road mobile machinery, agricultural and forestry tractors and recreational craft when not at sea. In 2018 the annual obligation was a share of 8.5% of renewable energy , the equivalent of 39.6 million giga joule (GJ).
The physical amount of renewable energy delivered to transport in 2018 was reported at 24.3 million GJ. When taking into account the double-counting of biofuels produced from wastes and residues, the ‘calculated energy content’ results in 41.6 million GJ (or a share of 8.9%).
The infographic below summarizes further results of 2018 as reported in the "Rapportage Energie voor Vervoer 2018".
Used feedstocks for the production of biofuels in 2018
An increasing portion of the biofuels on the Dutch transport market is produced from waste streams; in 2018 the share of these feedstocks rose to 72%, with used cooking oil accounting for a share of 56%. It is attractive to use waste based biofuels because their energy content may be counted twice to achieving the targets. The other 28% of biofuels are produced from agricultural crops, mainly corn and wheat. For the first time in recent years deliveries of biofuels made from palm- and soy have been reported, although in very little quantities (resp. 0,3% and 0,2% of all biofuels). In general, waste based biofuels are blended with diesel, while crop based biofuels are blended with petrol.
Use of conventional, advanced and other biofuels 2015-2018
As of 2018 additional goals have been set for the delivery of advanced biofuels. Advanced biofuels are made from specific waste and residue streams (other than used cooking oil and animal fat) which are listed in annex IX of the Renewable energy directive. Following the introduction of this additional goal, the use of advanced biofuels has increased significantly from 0.1% in 2017 to 0.8% in 2018. This means that the target of 0.6% for 2018 was met. Individual companies carry over their surplus, which can be used to fulfil their obligation of 2019. In 2018 feedstocks for the claimed advanced biofuel consist mainly of waste from the palmoil sector and of talloil. These feedstocks are used for the production of liquid biofuels. This is remarkable, because in previous years the registered deliveries of advanced biofuels were mainly gaseous biofuels. Also, from 2018 onwards, a limit has been set for the use of conventional biofuels, that use agricultural crops as feedstock. In this way the use of food and feed crops for biofuel production is discouraged. The use of conventional biofuels in the Netherlands in 2018 was 1.5%, which is well below the limit of 3%. This figure also shows the category “other biofuels”. These are biofuels made from used cooking oil and animal fat.
Average CO2-emission trend of transport fuels
Fuel suppliers need to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of their transport fuels by 6% in 2020. This reduction target applies to the emissions in the entire fuel chain: starting at the extraction and ending at the use in engines (“well to wheel”). In 2018 a reduction of 4.2% was achieved. This is a big improvement compared to previous years and is the spin-off of the strong increase of the annual obligation. This figure indicates the goal as a (national) average emission factor. In 2020 the average emission factor should be below 88.5 grams CO2-equivalent per mega joule. The average emission in 2018 was 90.2 grams and it is expected that fuel suppliers can meet the obligation set for 2020.
Contribution of the achieved CO2-emission reduction of transport fuels in 2018
The use of renewable energy in the transport sector contributes significantly to the reduction of CO2 emissions of transport fuels. This is the result of the significantly lower CO2 emissions of renewable energy compared to fossil fuels. In addition to the renewable energy sources, the “better fossil fuels” also contribute to the reduction of the average CO2-emission of transport fuels. Better fossil fuels are: LNG, CNG and LPG. Because of their lower CO2 emissions and higher use, the overall contribution of biofuels to CO2 reduction is much larger than that of the better fossil fuels. The use of biofuels in the Netherlands in 2018 has resulted in an amount of 1.7 Mton of green house gas to be saved.
Top 15 countries of origin of feedstocks for biofuels
The feedstock of the biofuels that were used in the Netherlands in 2018 originate from 80 different countries. 15 countries account for 80% of the feedstock production. This top 15 consists mainly of countries from Europe and Asia.
Netherlands
Less than 10% of the biofuels used in Dutch transport are produced from feedstocks that originate here. Nearly all the feedstock from the Netherlands is waste-based; mostly used cooking oil. Crops from the Netherlands are hardly used. The Netherlands is the 3rd largest supplier of used cooking oil for biofuels used in Dutch transport in 2018, behind China and the USA.
China
China is, by volume, the biggest supplier of feedstock used for biofuels in the Netherlands in 2018. This is all used cooking oil.
Other countries
The category “other countries” consists of 65 countries, delivering 20% of the feedstock volume.
Renewable energy for Dutch transport
In 2018 8.9% of renewable energy was delivered to the Dutch transport sector, enough to achieve the target of 8.5%. The delivered renewable energy mainly consists of liquid biofuels which are blended with fossil diesel (79%) and petrol (19%). The remaining 2% renewable energy comprises electricity and biogas.
Translation of keywords in this figure: Gebruikt frituurvet = used cooking oil / Dierlijk vet = animal fat / Afvalwater van palmoliemolen = palm oil mill effluent / Tallolie = talloil / Overig - afval = other waste streams / Mais = corn / Tarwe = wheat / Suikerbiet = sugar beet / Suikerriet = sugar cane / Overig – gewassen = other crops / Stedelijk afval = urban waste streams Grondstoffen uit afvalstromen = Waste based feedstocks / Grondstoffen uit gewassen = Crop based feedstocks
Translation of keywords in this figure: Conventioneel = conventional / Overige = other / Geavanceerd = advanced
Translation of keywords in this figure: Gerealiseerd = achieved / Referentiewaarden = reference value