Project description
A closer look at farmlands diverted to biofuel production
Indirect land use change (ILUC) occurs when agricultural land previously destined for the food and feed markets is diverted to biofuel production. This implies land use change and may cause the release of greenhouse gas emissions. The EU’s shift towards renewable energy has thrown a spotlight on ILUC and the question of how to achieve the lowest possible ILUC risk. With this in mind, the EU-funded BIKE project will study pathways to keeping that risk low. Specifically, it will map and assess increases in the production of crops grown on abandoned or degraded land and evaluate the feasibility of a new biogas-to-liquid production route. A detailed assessment of existing policy and legal frameworks influencing the deployment of low ILUC-risk value chains will also be performed.
Objective
The EU ILUC directive in 2015 introduced in the legislative framework a new concept for transport biofuels, the indirect land-use change (“ILUC”). Following, the recently issued red ii Directive introduces an exemption for biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels certified as low ILUC-risk toward the phasing out requirement for high-iluc risk feedstocks. The respective delegate act defines as low ILUC risk: ‘fuels produced in a way that mitigates ILUC emissions, either because they result from productivity increases or they come from crops grown on abandoned or severely degraded land’. The aim of the proposed project is to support the EC in the foreseen revisions of REDII by providing evidence, measuring and widely disseminating the market potential of low ILUC risk value chains for biomass, biofuels and bioliquids in Europe. The work will focus on three specific pathways to achieve low ILUC-risk, sustainable value-chains for advanced biofuel production, distinguished among the type of biomass, the cultivation and production mode. The project will map and evaluate both possible productivity increase for crops grown on abandoned or severely degraded land, and the feasibility of a new biogas-to-liquid production route. The core activity of BIKE project will be to investigate on the reliability of identified low-ILUC risk biofuels production routes, assessing the environmental, social and economic sustainability of proposed solutions. A detailed assessment of existing policy and legal framework, influencing the deployment of low ILUC risk value chains will also be performed to inform future policy and decision making in this area.
Fields of science
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicsproduction economicsproductivity
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculture
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuels
- engineering and technologyindustrial biotechnologybiomaterialsbiofuels
- agricultural sciencesagricultural biotechnologybiomass
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
CSA - Coordination and support actionCoordinator
50038 Scarperia E San Piero
Italy