U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council (USGBC) Regional Ethanol Manager for the European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK) and Canada Stephanie Larson recently traveled to Spain and Belgium to enhance the Council’s presence and visibility in ethanol market development in the region.
“Spain has a relatively low blending rate among EU members, but has the potential to increase its effective blending rate to reach a full E10 implementation. The Council has been collaborating with Spanish stakeholders seeking to stimulate internal demand for ethanol, thereby increasing its utilization rate in the country,” Larson said.
“This visit proved to be timely as Spain is in the process of finalizing its Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) transposition, to be finalized in the coming months, that could lead to higher levels of ethanol adoption.”
Larson was joined by Emily Marthaler of Growth Energy, Christian Delahouliere of ADM and Tuomo Isokivijärvi of StepOneTech. The mission began with a meeting with the Spanish Bioethanol Association to align on the demand outlook for biofuels in the country and discuss the state of play with respect to the RED III process.
Additional meetings also focused on connecting with public and private sector stakeholders in the energy industry to continue developing the Council’s reputation as a trusted partner for future ethanol program engagement.
In Brussels, Larson attended the Fourth General Assembly of the Renewable Low Carbon Fuels Value Chain (RLCF) Alliance, marking the Council’s first appearance at the event. As members of the Alliance, the Council can connect with integral actors in the energy and transportation industries and work toward formal introductions with additional decision makers to advance policy objectives.
Before the assembly, the Council’s delegation held a full day of one-on-one meetings with a variety of EU stakeholders and officials in Brussels, including DG Trade, to discuss ethanol policy-related matters in the broader EU.
“The Council’s participation in annual events like the General Assembly of the RLCF Alliance with our members signals USGBC’s commitment to remaining engaged as a member of the Alliance and working with EU industry leaders in the biofuels space,” Larson said.
Learn more about the Council’s work in Europe on the organization’s website.