SOURCE MATERIAL

Biofuels are based on Biomass.

In Switzerland, biofuels are based exclusively on animal or plant residues and waste materials. For example, 100 % of the biodiesel used in Switzerland consists of used cooking oils or slaughterhouse waste. These renewable fuels are enjoying increasing demand due to the climate debate and the resulting legislation.

In the case of the liquid biofuels commonly used today, the Bioethanol as a petrol substitute and Biodiesel and HVO as a diesel substitute in the foreground. Biogas with the same molecular structure as natural gas (methane/CH4) is becoming increasingly important.

The hopefuls of the future are the synthetic biofuels and the Power-to-X technology. These are still too immature to be marketable at the present time. Experts expect synthetic fuels to be commercialised in the next five to ten years.

Due to competition with food production, biofuels have often come under criticism in the past. In Switzerland, biofuels are based exclusively on waste and residual materials. In the EU, similar trends can be observed due to the crediting of greenhouse gas savings. In addition, the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) calls for a higher quota for waste-based fuels. More on this in the section Ethics.