Extended biodiesel production

Summary

This measure wanted to stimulate the implementation of biodiesel use (B30) in the surroundings of Gent, wanted to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and aimed at increasing the share of bio-diesel in compliance with EU legislation which will also reduce CO2 and other pollutant emissions. Wit(h the 5th amendment, this measure was no longer included in the Description of Work.

Implementing sustainable mobility

  In Belgium there is currently a tax exemption for diesel mixtures containing 4.29% biodiesel FAME. For public transport organisations such as De Lijn, there is an additional tax exemption for mixtures containing a higher percentage of FAME, up to 100%. This means that captive fleets from other public organisations are not eligible for additional tax exemptions when they use blends of biodiesel higher than 4.29%. A second constraint is that there is still no biodiesel available at the pump because there is no obligation to add biodiesel to normal diesel.

The measure aimed to stimulate biodiesel use (B30) in the surrounding areas of Ghent. The city seeks to encourage the use of B30, a mixture of diesel and 30% FAME by captive fleets from public organisations such as the postal service. In addition, a separate circuit of pumps will need to be installed to provide this B30. It is estimated that in this case at least four public and private organisations will increase their biodiesel fleets and a minimum of 1,200,500 litres of biodiesel per month will be required.

Progress

  The measure consisted of supporting actions to stimulate the use of biodiesel on a larger scale. These included:

• Removing legal and financial tax barriers, so other public and private organisations (apart from De Lijn) can use B30;
• Requesting that special project status is requested for all project partners, so the respective politicians and leading officers will have to be addressed to overcome possible unknown obstacles;
• Elaborate and clarify the sustainability criteria of B30;
• Ensuring that these criteria are enforced and met by the B30 distribution in Ghent, therefore European recommendations will be taken into account;
• Discussing the technical consequences of the use of B30 with car and truck manufacturers and obtaining guarantees from them for the use of B30;
• Since B30 is the norm in France for the captive fleet, this should be possible for Belgium as well. UGENT will contact bus, truck and car manufacturers to discuss possible obstacles with them, and find solutions to overcome these obstacles;
• Developing a (separate) pump circuit to distribute B30
• An inventory will be made of the different filling stations/pumps that are already present with the interested parties;
• Different fuel suppliers will be contacted to find a supplier for B30;
• At least two filling stations will be needed.

Outcomes

  Ghent expected the measure would lead to:

• Less dependence on fossil fuels;
• An increase in the share of biodiesel in compliance with EU legislation;
• A reduction in CO2 and other pollutant emissions;
• The approval of project-specific tax exemption for B30 from the federal ministry;
• Technical guarantees from car manufacturers for the use of B30 and a separate circuit of pumps to provide B30;
• 5% of captive fleet vehicles running on B30.

A lot of work had been done, but the output does not match the previous expectations.

There is a report available on the social, ecological, economical and technical aspect of the use of B30.
There is an integration of B30 compatibility for all new vehicles in future tenders of De Lijn and GCC.