Biofuel themes

Bioethanol is based on renewable resources and can reduce our dependency on fossil fuel. By 2030 bioethanol can meet 25% of the global need for energy for road transport* – and a lot more as vehicle fuel economy improves.

First-generation bioethanol is produced from crops such as sugar cane/beet, corn, wheat, barley, rye, sorghum, and cassava. This technology is in place and all commercial production of bioethanol is currently first generation.

Second-generation bioethanol is produced from feedstock containing cellulosic biomass such as the stalks, leaves, and husks of corn plants, wood chips, and sawdust. Second-generation bioethanol may also be produced from energy crops such as switch grass. The advantages of energy crops include their need for less fertilizer and the fact that they can be harvested several times a year. Enzyme technology is constantly developing, and Novozymes expects that the enzyme technology for commercially viable production of second-generation bioethanol will be on the market in 2010.

Biofuel is currently offering the only immediately available alternative to fossil fuels within transportation. Our technology opens the door to new thinking, about where to find resources and how to use them.

1st generation builds bridge to 2nd generation
1st generation is far better than the only other alternative right now which is oil. We can realize the benefits of 1st generation bioethanol now – and on top of that use it as a bridge to the next generation. By investing in 1st generation today we help build the industry and the infrastructure needed to make 2nd generation commercially viable; by:

• Giving biofuel producers time to further reduce production costs
• Giving investors and retailers the confidence needed for them to make the investments into production capacity and the build the infrastructure needed for a well-functioning biofuel market. A predictable and stable biofuel market significantly reduces the risk faced by potential investors in 2g bioethanol – and will speed up the investments needed today if we are to have 2g in 2010
• Encouraging consumers to invest in flexfuel vehicles able to run on high biofuel blends like for example E85

* Doornbosch and Steenblik, Biofuels: Is the Cure Worse than the Disease?

Bioethanol’s share of the increase in global food prices is very limited. At the same time bioethanol holds great potential for development of third world countries.

Food prices have risen over the last few years and are likely to stay high due to an increase in demand.

Bioethanol has only had the most marginal of impacts on food prices: Between 1996 and 2006 global corn production grew with 18%. So while the recent growth in bioethanol production means that today 8% of the global corn production is used for bioethanol – growth in production has more than made up for increased demand caused by bioethanol. At the same time one should remember that the protein content of the corn used for biofuel (37%) is used for animal feed – adding 1/3 to the availability of food.

Issues of food supply and income distribution are highly complex and sensitive. But bottom-line: People do not suffer due to a general shortage of food, but due to lack of income and other barriers to an effective distribution of the food that is available. Several studies show that there is food enough available to feed the entire global population*.

So what is needed is to allow the poor countries to generate income and develop their agriculture. Bioethanol can be an important element in improving the economies and alleviating poverty in developing countries. In developing countries production and use of bioethanol can stimulate rural development, significantly improve trade balances, increase energy supply security, reduce harmful pollutants from vehicle exhaust, and reduce CO2 emissions.

Some developing countries now spend over six times as much on fuel as they do on health – and the increased oil price has completely eroded the intended benefits of recent debt relief efforts. The economic benefits of bioethanol production in developing countries could be substantial. Money spend on fuel will be channeled into local industry and agricultural helping to stimulate increased production of food, feed and fuel – making developing countries more self-sufficient and more competitive on the global markets.

* Food for thought. (2008, March 29). The Economist, p.63)

There are several ways to produce biofuel, and when done properly, it is possible to produce energy as well as food and feed – and not least protect the environment.

For more than 10,000 years we have optimized our agricultural practices to grow food for ourselves and feed for our animals. Producing fuel from agricultural feedstock is a new possibility, but a possibility that holds the same challenges as other agricultural production processes.

There are many dilemmas in agricultural production. Increased use of fertilizer will increase yield, but also give rise to emission of nitrous gases that contribute to global warming. The crops which are best suited for a specific soil type may not be the ones for which the market pays the best price. But drought-tolerant jatropha bushes in Africa, willows on marginal land in Denmark, mixed perennials and grasses on the American prairies, or sugar cane in Brazil are all examples of crops that ensure a good utilization of land while meeting market needs.

Sustainable bioethanol production requires a good match between soil, crop, and agricultural practices – as well as efficient processing of the feedstock. And it is on the last point that Novozymes makes the difference.

While animal husbandry occupies 70% of all agricultural land* – a percentage that is steadily growing – both desertification and urbanization continue to erode what remains of arable land. Bioethanol can help counter this and contribute to rural development. Some biofuel crops revitalize arid lands as well as stop desertification. Jatropha is a particularly good example of a biofuel crop with these abilities. The plant is resilient enough to grow in arid environments, such as those bordering deserts. Today Jatropha is already providing energy, protection from further desertification, and adding productive land in a number of developing countries. A number of perennial crops and grasses have similar abilities.

On a global scale, about 1.1% of arable land was used to produce bioethanol in 2007*. Provided we produce feedstock for bioethanol in a sustainable way, use the crops to their fullest and leverage the additional benefits offered by the new energy crops, very limited or no additional acreage is needed to replace as much as 30% of the gasoline used in transportation with renewable bioethanol.  

In the end, this is a question about making the best use of our agricultural lands. Done right we can meet the requirements for food, feed, and energy – while also protecting and improving the environment.

* Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (n.d.). Bioenergy, food security and sustainability - towards an international framework. June 2008.

The transport sector is responsible for about one fifth of global CO2 emissions. If nothing is done, transport is expected to be the main driver of future increases in global CO2 emission.

A recent study backed by the Asian Development Bank shows that even under the most optimistic current scenarios for managing the expansion of road traffic in Asia, CO2 emissions from the transport sector will triple over the next 25 years.

Bioethanol alone cannot replace the fossil fuels used for transportation. New thinking is needed about our transport requirements and patterns - as are more fuel efficient vehicles. There is no single solution that can reduce our oil dependency and deliver the urgently needed CO2 emission reductions.

Different solutions are being debated in the media. But often these debates are overly optimistic around technologies that are still ‘futuristic’ and give undue and unbalanced attention to worst case scenarios for solutions that are mature and available today. In Novozymes we feel that the world needs to support several different solutions and not least work to ensure rapid and sustainable implementation of the renewable energy solutions available today.

A sense of urgency
We need to act now, if we are to effectively meet the climate change challenges and build a sustainable future supply of both energy and materials. Besides increased fuel efficiency, biofuel is still the only currently available solution that can deliver significant CO2 emissions in relation to transportation.

First-generation bioethanol is able to reduce CO2 emissions by 20–70%* compared to gasoline. The size of the emission reduction is mostly dependent on farming practices, on the energy efficiency of the bioethanol plant, and on the use of co-products in for example animal feed. As practices and technology has developed this figure has increased – and it will continue to increase. We also expect that second-generation bioethanol will be able to reduce CO2 emissions by 90% compared with gasoline. Perhaps even more, again depending on production conditions and use of co-products.

New fractionation and enzyme technologies are reducing biorefinery energy inputs and delivering higher-value co-products. Biorefineries are also increasing the use of renewable energy sources such as corn stover or animal waste to power their facilities, thus greatly reducing their fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Future cellulosic biorefineries are expected to require little or no fossil inputs at all – and will even deliver biomass based electricity to the grid.

* European Commission Institute for Environment and Sustainability. (n.d.). Well to Wheel Study.

Bioethanol can of course be produced in non-sustainable ways - which is why Novozymes whole-heartedly supports the efforts currently underway around the world to ensure sustainable production.

We feel that international harmonization in this area should to be sought, with the basic process characterized by both simplicity and transparency. We also feel that it is important to begin these efforts as soon as possible.

We support and participate in efforts now underway in the EU and other regions, to prepare a certification system for sustainable bioethanol. These efforts take a broad range of sustainability perspectives into account, such as: Protection of lands with high biodiversity and high carbon-fixation, protection of forests and arable lands from nutrient depletion, protection of fresh water resources, and protection against soil erosion or contamination. These sustainability perspectives are relevant for agricultural production and forestry in general – not just for the small part that goes into biofuel production.

We also support The Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuel, an international initiative to ensure the harmonization among national regulations, both economically and through active participation in the workgroup engaged in the development of principles for the measurement of greenhouse gases. And finally, we participate in the monitoring group of the German ISCC project (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) that is running a pilot project to test the suggestions for certification that the European Commission has developed.