Current situation and prospects for biodiesel and vegetable oils as fuels: from niche products to market players (Germany)

Mar 2007

From a very early stage, Germany and France had seen a new commercial alternative in rapeseed cultivation on set-aside land to produce diesel, albeit pursuing different strategies.
France consistently pursued an admixture of biodiesel and petroleum diesel, starting with a pilot project, which resulted in a production capacity of about 250,000 t in 1995. Germany did not pursue this strategy, which is specified by petroleum taxation frameworks. Instead the introduction of biodiesel as a pure fuel to the market was "tolerated" in the absence of national regulations ratified by the EU Commission. Market introduction was rendered more difficult due to consumers' almost complete unawareness of biodiesel and doubts concerning its suitability for use in conventional diesel engines in those days. Thus the initial biodiesel turnover was relatively low. It was not until September 1995 that the first industrial biodiesel facility went into operation in Leer in North Germany. However, the price difference between biodiesel and petroleum diesel was still too small to trigger a rise in demand. Nevertheless, by issuing an approval for all diesel passenger cars, Volkswagen Corporation was the first car manufacturer to set the basis for a customer base at filling stations, which finally broke the "chicken-and-egg" cycle.

By: D. Bockey (German Union for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Plants, UFOP)

 
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