UFOP welcomes Germany’s decision to amend biomass, biofuel regulation as effective step toward preventing fraud

The Union for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Crops (UFOP) welcomed a decision Oct. 28 by the German Federal Cabinet on the “Regulation implementing Directive (EU) 2023/2413 regarding requirements for the sustainable production of biomass for electricity generation and biofuels.”

With this amendment to the biomass electricity sustainability regulation (BioSt-NachV) and the biofuel sustainability regulation (Biokraft-NachV), the German federal government is transposing the European requirements of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) into national law.

UFOP said it regards the new regulations as a pioneering contribution within the EU to fraud prevention and to promoting political and public acceptance of sustainably certified biofuels.

The association said it particularly welcomes the tightening of control mechanisms enshrined in the regulation, which relate to the frequency of inspections and the scope of sampling.

In particular, in the event of a suspected breach during an on-site inspection, auditors are obliged to take samples of raw materials or biofuels and have them analyzed by an accredited laboratory.

In such cases, the plant operator is required to cooperate by providing the relevant documentation and evidence.

UFOP said it expects that the obligation for certification bodies to be accredited by the German Accreditation Body (DAkkS) from 2028 onwards, together with optimized monitoring processes, will put a stop to unfair competition.

“Only with a robust and fraud-proof certification system can the trust of market participants be secured,” UFOP emphasized, referring to the very comprehensive list of waste and residual materials published by the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE).

Here, UFOP is calling for standardization at the EU level when the European Commission presents the draft for the announced revision of RED III.

These stricter requirements for carrying out on-site inspections both within the EU and in third countries will be the focus of the 24th International Conference, “Fuels of the Future 2027.”

UFOP pointed out that the relevant national authority, BLE, is updating the positive list of countries where on-site inspections are permitted.

China is still not included on this list, but Hong Kong is.