Biofuels are seen by experts currently as the only alternative to fossil fuels which are able to make a noteworthy contribution to secure mobility in the short to medium-term.
In January 2007 The European Commission presented several proposals for a “road map for renewable energies” to increase pressure for more widespread biofuel use in  member states of the enlarged European Union – EU-27. The author argues that the current challenge is to open the market for biofuels and optimise combustion engines in order to reduce fuel consumption and emissions.
The main factors for political motivation to promote the use of biofuels are: protection of the climate, secure fuel supply, and development of rural areas. Given the rapid rise in crude oil prices and increasing geopolitical uncertainties, energy supply security does not only govern politics in Germany but also around the globe.
As an element of the national and European energy supply, German and European biomass potential is increasingly gaining in importance. This is in line with the “EU Biomass Action Plan” proposed by the EU Commission at the end of 2005 and the EU strategy for biofuels in January 2006. In January 2007 the EU-Commission published the “Renewable Energy Road Map”, which included proposals for new (higher) targets, suggesting an increase in the consumption of renewable energy of up to 20 % by 2020 and a mandatory 10 % target for biofuels of total fuel consumption on energy basis.
In this brief article, the author focused on the German biofuel context as part of the European framework by its analysis from different perspectives: German partial taxation, biofuel act, biodiesel production and market, and rapeseed oil fuel market.

By: D. Bockey. Union for promoting oil and protein plants (UFOP)

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