What are biofuels?

Renewable fuels such as biofuels can be used in existing combustion engine vehicles, taking advantage of existing distribution and refueling infrastructures. They already represent a sustainable mobility alternative for all transport segments. Especially aviation, maritime, and heavy-duty transportation, which currently do not have a viable alternative through electrification.

With their use we can limit CO₂ emissions since the CO₂ released in their use is equal to the CO₂ that has been previously removed from the atmosphere by the raw material used for their production, which makes them emission-reducing fuels. They expand the range of low-emission mobility technologies and allow us to increase the pace of decarbonization without relying solely on renewing the fleet with electric vehicles. They allow consumers to choose the ones that best suit their needs and start reducing their emissions immediately.

Their production and distribution can be carried out using existing industrial facilities. Therefore, the manufacture of biofuels represents an enormous opportunity for the growth of industrial activity, contributing to the technological development of the sector and generating quality employment. Biofuels will be key to boosting the development of the circular economy in Spain, creating new jobs in rural areas.

They also allow us to diversify the country's energy mix. Their production is a guarantee for security of supply and energy independence, since they can be manufactured locally and with autochthonous raw materials.

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Biofuels are obtained by transforming biomass, an organic material that comes from plants and animals. This is done using mechanical, thermochemical, and biological processes, and depending on the origins of the raw material used to make the biofuels and the processes used, they can be classified as follows: 

• First-generation biofuels: consists of fuels obtained from food crops. First-generation biofuels are a transition fuel, a bridge to biofuels. Their use will be progressively limited, but in the meantime they meet the sustainability and carbon footprint reduction criteria established by the European Renewable Energy Directive and their entire value chain is certified. Examples of these biofuels are those created from vegetable oils, such as bioethanol and biodiesel.
• Second-generation or biofuels: are those that come from organic wastes that are not destined for or compete with food, from the agri-food and forestry industries, used cooking oils and the organic matter from urban wastes. The use of these wastes favors the reuse of resources and reduces the arrival of waste at landfills. These include renewable diesel (HVO), sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), biogas, and biomethane.
  
• Third-generation biofuels: these fuels are extracted from algae and aquatic plants with a natural oil content of at least 50 %. The production of this biofuel has not yet been carried out on a commercial scale.
  
• Fourth-generation biofuels: the fourth generation goes a step further and seeks to genetically modify microorganisms to improve the efficiency of CO₂ capture and storage. These biofuels are also not commercialized at the moment, although there are pilot plants in Brazil and the United States.