Sustainable biofeedstock supply chains for advanced biofuels in Europe towards 2050

Abstract

Advanced biofuels, are expected to play a central role in the decarbonisation of the EU transport sector, especially in hard-to-abate segments such as aviation, maritime, and heavy-duty transport. Biomass availability, along with the costs tied to its distribution and conversion into fuels, have been identified as critical for the scalability and long-term viability of advanced biofuel deployment. Over the years, uncertainty has surrounded the most efficient supply chain strategy for biofeedstocks. While traditional thinking favours siting biorefineries near biomass sources to reduce logistics costs, an alternative approach argues for clustering production within existing industrial sites, such as oil refineries, to benefit from integration synergies. Although several studies (e.g., ICL-Concawe 2021) have estimated Europe’s biomass availability for 2030 and 2050, few have examined the economic side of biomass supply. Publicly available cost assessments remain scarce and are typically narrow in scope, often focusing on individual countries or regions.