Next-gen biofuels will take time, warns Shell, as EU moves to curb first-gen targets

In Germany, Joerg Adolf, chief economist of Deutsche Shell told Reuters that “There will be possibilities to increase the use of second-generation fuels, however these [revised EU] targets are ambitious. Currently we have some second generation pilot plants but we will need production in millions of tonnes not in hundreds of thousands of tonnes. I would not expect the major flow of new (second generation) plants to come on stream until after 2020.” Adolf’s comments came as EU experts are weighing the impact of a proposed EU shift from 10 percent biofuels blends targets using primarily first-gen feedstocks, to a split target that ensured that the second 5 percent of biofuels supply would come from advanced biofuels and next-gen feedstocks, including waste.