In the future, drivers in Germany will also be able to fill up with diesel that is made 100 percent from used cooking oils such as chip fat. The Federal Environment Ministry announced following a cabinet decision that so-called paraffinic diesel fuels are now also approved as pure fuel. These are made, for example, from waste materials and vegetable oils or based on natural gas.
They can already be mixed with conventional diesel today. According to the changed regulation, they can now also be offered in 100 percent concentration. “In order to avoid damage to vehicles due to incorrect refueling, the new regulation requires gas station operators to provide consumers with uniform information,” the ministry said. At the same time, the current promotion of paraffinic diesel fuels from fossil sources should be ended in order to avoid climate-damaging incentives.
The Association of the German Biofuel Industry (VDB) welcomed this approval. “With this decision, the federal government is clearing the way for more climate protection in transport,” said Elmar Baumann, managing director at VDB. Biodiesel emits 70 to 90 percent less CO2 than fossil diesel.
The technology president of the ADAC automobile club, Karsten Schulze, said: “The climate-friendly further development of fuels for existing vehicles is an important step in achieving climate protection goals.” Manufacturers are now required to design new vehicles for the use of cooking oil diesel and to check the compatibility of older models.
Baumann from the VDB said: “In 2030 and in the years after that, over 30 million cars with combustion engines will be on German roads.” “Their greenhouse gas emissions can only be reduced through low-CO2 fuels.”
Ministry: Quantity cannot be increased
The FDP politician Judith Skudelny was pleased with the decision. “It is very clear: We want to have these 100 percent sustainable fuels,” she told the German Press Agency. “It certainly has the potential to make transport climate-neutral, even in the existing fleet.”
The extent to which drivers can fill up with fuel made from frying fat across the board is controversial. The ministry warned that there was only a limited supply. Used cooking oils – for example from the catering industry – are already being used as an admixture in transport, said a spokesman. This amount cannot be increased.
Skudelny, on the other hand, referred to the world market. “It’s nice, of course, if we use our own fats for this, but there are large international refineries.”
