Technology readiness: Direct use of sustainably sourced biomass and biofuels

Heavy-duty trucks

Current status of implementation and existing gaps

Emission reductions can also be achieved by using biodiesels and renewable diesel – an option that is being explored for heavy-duty trucks (IRENA, 2024b).

Examples and initiatives

Volvo has adapted its model to allow for trucks to be powered by biodiesel B100, HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) and bio-LNG (liquified natural gas). Volvo notes that CO2 emission reductions up to 70% can be achieved by using these fuels.

Shipping

Current status of implementation and existing gaps

Biofuels can be used drop-in fuels, requiring little or no changes in operation and infrastructure. Currently for shipping, biofuels such fatty acid methyl ester and hydrotreated vegetable oil are used. These are produced globally, although in small volumes, and are thus used in blends (Lloyd’s Register, 2024). The main challenge for scaling up biofuels is the availability of biomass to produce significant quantities of those fuels.

Examples and initiatives

The total biofuel consumption in shipping in 2023 amounted to 0.7 Mtoe (0.3% of total energy use in marine shipping).

Aviation

Current status of implementation and existing gaps

Sustainable, low-carbon biofuels are the most technologically straightforward pathway to decarbonise aviation. Biojet can be used as a drop-in fuel on existing and future aircraft. The scale-up of biofuels will require major policy developments to ensure the sustainability as well as commercial maturity of innovative feedstock conversion technologies, such as the alcohol-to-jet pathway using ethanol.

Examples and initiatives

Lanzajet’s facility produces 10 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel using ethanol (LanzaJet, 2024).

Enablers

Enablers (39)