Exploitable results
The European Commission has set the objective to substitute 20% of motor fuel consumption by new and alternative fuels by the year 2020. Three categories of fuels are envisaged: biofuels, natural gas and hydrogen. There are many constraints for a market introduction and large-scale application of these fuels.
Certain alternative fuels are closer to market maturity than others. Biofuels could achieve market maturity rather soon (estimated up to 2010), while hydrogen is much further away from market maturity (estimated up to 2020). So the actions to secure their market introduction may require different approaches.
The Premia project introduced common assessment frameworks for research, development and demonstration were introduced, and national incentive programmes that can facilitate the market introduction of alternative motor fuels were developed. These tasks have been completed by conducting local and international workshops, expert interviews or scenario calculations for the introduction of biofuels in the EU.
The project analysed the production and consumption of biofuels, price evolutions (both for fossil and biofuels), feedstock production and the active policy measures and market conditions in different Member States. Also the experiences gained all over Europe were described. This work has enabled the evaluation of the most important key drivers for biofuel support for the future as well as the conditions that influence a Member State's potential and interest in producing and consuming biofuels.
Premia has grouped countries based on their economic strength, their energy situation and their natural suitability of growing bioenergy crops as well as on the importance of the agricultural sector for the economy. Additionally, scenarios for 2010 and 2020 were assessed. The use of biofuels was estimated for each country, taking into account the impacts of biofuel production on the energy and agricultural markets (e.g. through increasing feedstock prices).
The Premia project has presented a common assessment framework for demonstration actions of alternative motor fuels in transport. First focus is on hydrogen demonstrations, but also other fuels like biofuels or natural gas can be addressed. The assessment framework is an important tool for follow-up of the progress within the initiative itself, but also for society and policy makers, because the results indicate where current and future strengths and weaknesses of the technology are, and in which field further progress and public support is still needed.
As the need for alternative fuels and technologies in transport is emerging, it is important to follow up the progress and potential of new technologies towards market introduction. Demonstration projects can be an effective way to gain experience and demonstrate the feasibility of the technology. By using a consistent assessment framework these projects can indicate where current and future strengths and weaknesses of the technology are, and in which field further progress and public support is still needed. The learning process from different initiatives can be optimised by using a common way to collect data and to assess the results. The Premia assessment framework is used as a basis for new European projects demonstrating hydrogen and biofuel use in transport. The common methodology can help towards intercomparison of project results and to build consistent conclusions.
The assessment framework focuses on the three main steps in the AMF pathway: fuel production, distribution and end-use. The framework consists of a technical part and a socio-economic part. Technical categories are directly technology related, such as technical performance, environmental impact, cost, safety and regulations. Socio-economic evaluation is more generic and focuses on awareness rising, acceptance, energy security and socio-economic impact.
The listing of indicators is a guideline for AMF demonstration projects. The extensive list of indicators and underlying components can be regarded as different modules which can be integrated in the data collection process. Some evaluation categories are basic (most parameters on technological performance, energy use, cost, safety, project visibility), other evaluation categories like harmful emissions, life-cycle analysis (LCA) calculations, socio-economic studies, may only be part of the project if specifically mentioned in the project description.
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