ACEA

position concerning diesel that might contain more than 7% FAME

22 April 2014

In June 2008, ACEAs statement on biofuels(1) laid out the conditions necessary for the European
auto-industry to support the rollout of B7 diesel (and E10 petrol) across member states of the
European Union as a means of supporting the Renewable Energy Strategy of the EU, i.e.
ACEA offered that all new vehicles would be compatible with either B7 diesel (or E10 petrol) by
2010 the auto industry invested and delivered on that promise.
There must be clear quality standards (CEN) ensuring fit-for-purpose market fuels so that
vehicles can operate without negative consequences this has yet to be delivered (see below).
Until there has been a EU review to establish the need to move to higher and EU harmonised
levels of high quality low blend biofuels (i.e. higher than B7 diesel or E10 petrol), no member
state should go beyond what is in the Fuel Quality Directive for general market fuels. Higher
blends of high quality low blend biofuels might be introduced, but only for captive fleets of
dedicated vehicles.
In the case of diesel, new biofuel blend standards ensuring high market fuel quality should be
defined utilising advanced renewable diesel from processes such as hydrotreated vegetable
oils (HVO), co-processing or BtL.
Four years later, in November 2012, ACEA updated this biofuel statement in a position paper(2)
concerning the still unresolved issue of Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC), i.e.
Disappointment that while the auto industry had delivered the vehicles, the EU and the
member states had failed to ensure the widespread availability of B7 diesel (and E10 petrol)
general market fuels.
The needs of the customer and the auto industry for a strong EU internal market delivering
high quality and common general market fuels was being overlooked by biofuels politics -
leading to possible fragmentation of the EU internal market.
Disappointment that there had been little movement to sustainable advanced renewable high
quality biofuels.
Continued concerns about market fuel quality (see below).

Market quality to ensure fit-for-purpose fuels:

There remains a clear need to ensure that low blend diesel meets the quality demands of the
auto-manufacturers so that what customers are offered at the pump across all seasons of the year
is a high quality fit-for-purpose fuel.
The presence of saturated fatty acid methyl esters in FAME has a direct influence on the
properties of the pure biodiesel blend component and the final diesel blend. High levels of such
saturated fatty acid methyl esters will result in vehicle malfunctions and data show that such
issues are increasing in the field. The Renewable Energy Use Directives double counting of used
cooking oil and animal fats will make the issue worse. Accordingly, the standards for pure
biodiesel (EN14214) and the final blend (EN590) must be updated to ensure the highest quality of
diesel so customers can have confidence that what they buy at the filling station on any day of the
year will allow their vehicle to operate safely and without problem.

Accordingly, ACEAs position regarding the specification and quality of general market diesel
and the EU internal market remains as follows:

ACEA members accept up to B7 (as defined by the Fuel Quality Directive and EN590) for all
vehicles, old and new.
Diesel blends higher than B7 are not accepted in general for new vehicles offered by ACEA
members.
An alternate and acceptable way to achieve an equivalent renewable diesel" would be to
keep FAME blending limited to a maximum of 7% v/v and blend advanced renewable diesel
such as HVO or BtL. However, the quality of the FAME remains a concern for the auto-industry
(see above).
ACEA does not support such an action by a member state but, if a member state does decide
to permit the sale of diesel containing more than 7% v/v FAME in its territory as a general
market fuel (assuming it also complies with the Fuel Quality Directive and EN590), it must also
ensure the continued sale of B7 diesel for those vehicles that will not be able to accept the use
of a higher FAME diesel blend. Any diesel offered for sale containing more than 7% v/v FAME
content must be distinctly labelled so the customer is fully aware what diesel his vehicle must
use.
The EU fuels market across all member states (current and future new entrants) must be
based on common and harmonised high quality general market fuels. ACEA requests that, for
the benefit of the customer, all member states of the EU provide similar levels of access to
common and high quality general market fuels that comply with Annex I of the Fuel Quality
Directive and EN228 (in the case of petrol) or Annex II of the Fuel Quality Directive and EN590
(in the case of diesel). Fragmentation of the EU internal market for general market fuels
cannot be accepted.
The CEN standards EN590 for diesel (and EN228 for petrol) still need to be updated to ensure
high quality fuels are delivered to all customers across the EU.

References:
(1)
ACEA statement on biofuels, 9 June 2008.
(2)
ACEA views concerning ILUC, 13 November 2012.

Notes for editors

ACEAs members are BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler, FIAT SpA, Ford of Europe, General Motors Europe, Hyundai
Motor Europe, IVECO SpA, Jaguar Land Rover, PSA Peugeot Citron, Renault Group, Toyota Motor Europe,
Volkswagen Group, Volvo Cars, Volvo Group. More information can be found on www.acea.be.
Facts about the EU automobile industry
Some 12.9 million people - or 5.3% of the EU employed population - work in the sector.
The 3 million jobs in automotive manufacturing represent 10% of EU's manufacturing employment.
2
 Motor vehicles account for 387 billion in tax contribution in the EU15.
The sector is also a key driver of knowledge and innovation, representing Europe's largest private contributor to
R&D, with 32 billion invested annually.
The automotive sector contributes significantly to the EU trade balance with a 95.7 billion surplus.
For more information, please contact Cara McLaughlin, cm@acea.be, +32 2 738 73 45