Biodiesel from biomass waste to replace fossil fuels and achieve negative emissions
A new project aims to reduce the cost of producing biodiesel from biomass waste, making it as cost-effective as fossil fuels while exploring avenues for negative emissions.
Through the CONVERGE Project, the EU Commission will invest €5 million to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of biodiesel production from waste biomass. By applying innovative technologies, biodiesel output is expected to increase by 12%, while production costs will be cut by more than 10%.
Currently, less than 0.1% of all biomass is used to produce biodiesel, mainly due to inefficient and complex production processes. CONVERGE will demonstrate a breakthrough process that will make biodiesel competitive with fossil fuels in terms of both performance and price.
Furthermore, CONVERGE will investigate the integration of BECCS (Bio-Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage) alongside biodiesel production to generate negative emissions — effectively removing CO₂ from the atmosphere. The IPCC’s latest report on limiting global warming to 1.5°C stresses the urgent need for deploying negative emission technologies, including BECCS.
