Bioenergia ry – the Bioenergy Association of Finland – calls for the new AFIR to be more inclusive towards all alternative fuels. Currently, the AFIR does not set targets for compressed methane (CNG/CBG). It also does not give any preference for biomethane or e-methane in maritime transport. As a result, the AFIR does not fully drive forward renewable methane use. The same applies for ethanol (E85) and renewable diesel (B100 & HVO100).
In Finland, 400 million euros worth of biogas/methane investments have reached an FID or started operation during 2022-2026 and can serve sustainable transport as well.
As the EAFO tracker shows the number of CNG & LNG stations has moderately increased in five years, but at the same time the number of vehicles per station has decreased. This shows how devastating the CO2 standard for cars and vans has been to the market. We strongly support the technology-neutral revision of the CO2 standard allowing more options for customers – including climate neutral vehicles. In our view the Commission proposal for Industrial Automotive Action Plan is not sufficient in that respect.
All carbon neutral filling stations within AFIR should be included for instance as a supplementary positive target for member states that could be used to compensate hydrogen network development in case of low market demand.