Europe's latest push for advanced biofuels hinges on sustainable agricultural feedstocks

As Europe accelerates efforts to decarbonise transport, agricultural feedstocks are re-emerging as a strategic pillar of the continent’s biofuel push , offering an immediate, infrastructure‑compatible route to emissions savings while presenting significant design and governance challenges for policymakers and industrial actors.

According to the original report, the European Commission’s new bioeconomy strategy recommends scaling up advanced biofuels for hard‑to‑abate transport segments. Industry players are responding by building integrated agri‑feedstock chains that prioritise residues, intermediate and non‑food crops, and production on degraded or under‑utilised land to avoid competition with food production and curb indirect land‑use change.

The case for speed is partly economic and partly technical. Industry data shows advanced biofuels can be deployed today as “drop‑in” fuels for heavy road, maritime and aviation applications, enabling rapid emissions reductions where electrification or hydrogen remain costly or technically immature. The International Energy Agency projects a strong rise in biofuel deployment under decarbonisation scenarios, driven by growing mandates for aviation and shipping and by expanding supplies of waste‑ and residue‑based oils. Independent market analysis also forecasts a sharp increase in demand to 2030, intensifying competition for lower‑risk feedstocks such as used cooking oil and agro‑residues.

Energy majors have moved accordingly. According to the original report, Eni is developing biorefineries supplied by vegetable oils grown on degraded land and by waste streams, and says its HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) pathway can deliver lifecycle emission cuts of 60–90% relative to fossil diesel under the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) calculations. Speaking to the wider market, the report notes Neste, TotalEnergies, Repsol and BP are all expanding renewable diesel, SAF and advanced biofuel projects across Europe, deploying supply‑chain models that pair local processing with international sourcing where appropriate.

Agronomy and certification are now the industry’s frontiers. As Eni’s head of Agribusiness, Nicolò Aggogeri, puts it: “To fully unlock the potential of biofuels in decarbonising transport, agriculture needs to undergo a strategic transformation at scale. The key lies in integrating new cropping systems – particularly intermediate crops ­– into existing production cycles and enhancing the productivity of underutilised [degraded] land, enabling feedstock expansion without triggering additional land use or compromising food security.” He adds that realising this will demand “innovation on several fronts” including soil regeneration, precision agriculture and resilient seed genetics.

That approach aligns with recent regulatory changes: the revised RED now lists intermediate crops and crops cultivated on severely degraded land among eligible feedstocks in Annex IX, creating a clearer pathway for these materials to count toward EU subtargets , but only where safeguards prevent displacement of food production or new deforestation. Industry groups and a consultancy report commissioned by a consortium of major energy companies have urged the Commission to refine definitions and optionality so intermediate crops contributing additional volumes in rotation systems can be counted across transport subtargets.

Operational models in practice combine local agri‑hubs and pressing facilities with downstream biorefineries. According to the original report, Eni’s agri‑hub network now extends beyond Italy to countries including Kenya, the Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Congo and Angola, with by‑products valorised into animal feed or fertiliser and ISCC‑EU certification used to demonstrate compliance with EU sustainability rules. The report highlights scale examples , such as agri‑hub capacity in Kenya and land cultivated in the Congo , and describes training and mechanisation programmes intended to build local capability.

But risks remain. Evidence from the earlier RED debate shows that poorly designed incentives can drive indirect land‑use change and biodiversity loss; the Commission and member states must therefore tighten monitoring, chain‑of‑custody controls and sustainability criteria. For industrial buyers and corporate purchasers, transparent, auditable certification will be essential to ensure claimed emission savings are real and permanent. The sector must also reconcile growing feedstock demand with circularity goals and local land‑use priorities, particularly where imports increase pressure on global residue and vegetable‑oil markets.

For B2B actors in industrial decarbonisation, the policy and commercial takeaway is clear: advanced biofuels can be a strategic, near‑term decarbonisation lever for hard‑to‑abate transport if supply chains are deliberately designed to avoid food‑fuel competition and biodiversity harms, are backed by robust agronomic innovation, and are subject to stringent, verifiable sustainability certification. According to the European Commission’s strategy, doing so also supports resilience of the European bioeconomy and contributes to broader circularity and rural‑development objectives , provided industrial rollout is matched by clear rules, enforcement and investment in agronomic transformation.