Economic and Environmental Evaluation of Biofuels for Future Sustainable European Aviation

Abstract

Decarbonization of the transport sector as proclaimed in the COP 21 targets requires the transition from fossil to renewable energy sources. Aviation, shipping and heavy duty transportation are expected to continuously rely on liquid fuels. Biofuels can replace a large share of fossil fuel in these sectors. However, the usage of biofuels within transportation is only reasonable with significantly reduced Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to fossil fuels and lower GHG abatement costs compared to other decarbonization technologies (e.g. Power-to-Liquid, hydrogen, electric mobility etc.). A detailed discussion of biofuels prospects for future European aviation shall be presented. Different biofuel production paths are compared and analyzed in terms of technical potential and challenges, fuel production costs, GHG footprint and GHG abatement costs. Based on the results the following superordinate questions are addressed: • What share of the European aviation demand can be covered by biofuels? • What types of biofuels are required and certified for aviation? • How to compare GHG abatement potential and costs with other GHG reducing options? • What technical challenges are still to be resolved on the way to successful market introduction?