1st generation biofuels here to stay, says expert

14 March 2008 13:22  [Source: ICIS news]

BRUSSELS (ICIS news)--The global renewable fuels industry should not discard first-generation biofuels made from food crops because they are an improvement on fossil fuels, said POET CEO Jess Broin.

“First-generation biofuels are one of the only available options,” Broin of the US-based biofuels company said at the World Biofuels Market Conference here on Thursday. “They are sustainable and they are better than the [fossil fuel] alternatives,” he added.

Broin, whose company POET produces more than 1.1bn gallons/year ethanol, was speaking as part of a panel discussion at the conference during which a debate on the merits of current and future renewable technologies emerged.

Corn-based ethanol production would make way for more advanced renewable technologies, said Tjerk de Ruiter, CEO of Danish biofuels company Genencor. He called first generation biofuels a "stepping stone".

First generation biofuels are broadly defined as those produced using food crops such as corn (maize). The products are mainly ethanol and bio-esters.

Second-generation biofuels are made from non-food feedstocks such as agriculture and forestry waste.

According to energy giant Shell, when commercialised, the cost of second-generation biofuels could be more comparable with standard petrol and diesel.

Used at 100% concentration, second- generation biofuels could reduce well-to-wheels CO2 production by up to 90%,  Shell says.

The three-day conference ends today.

For more on biofuels see Simon Robinson's Big Biofuels Blog

By: Charles Shaw
+44 20 8652 3214

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