Production and consumption of biodiesel in Switzerland

 

Until 2003, EcoEnergy Etoy was the one and only biodiesel producer in Switzerland. Located in Etoy (VD), this facility is operated by a cooperative society founded in 1994, which brings together nearly 1'000 members. Initially, the whole production was used by its members, mainly in the agricultural sector. Today, most of the biodiesel produced in Etoy is sold to fuel distributors such as Flamol Mineralöl or Migrol who then market the biofuel in the form of B5 or B100 (see the distribution of biodiesel in Switzerland).

More recently, the companies BioPower Fardin, Humbel Biodiesel and Admano, respectively situated in Rudolfstetten (AG), Stetten (SH) and Altdorf (UR) have followed in the steps of EcoEnergie Etoy to produce in turn biodiesel mainly from recycled waste oils and other vegetable oils.

In 2007, biodiesel production was supplemented by the companies MP Biodiesel, RB Bioenergie and Biodiesel Flawil (a subsidiary of Mecan Ecosystems), situated respectively Domdidier (FR), Laupen (BE) and Flawil (SG). The three facilities each have a capacity of approximately 5 Ml/year and produce biodiesel from virgin vegetable oils either imported or from the Swiss agriculture.

Today, there are less than ten biodiesel producers in Switzerland.

Along with the production of biodiesel, some companies in Switzerland today produce pure vegetable oil (PVO), used as fuel. This is the case of the two companies AgroEnergie and Biodrive, respectively located in Zell (LU) and Möriken (AG). Mainly produced from rapeseed, fuel-PVO conforms to the German Standard DIN 51605 (currently the only official standard for fuel-PVO). It should be noted that the company AgroEnergie sells its fuel under the name JuniorDiesel.

PVO can be used as a mixture with diesel in standard diesel vehicles (without modification of the engine) or pure in modified vehicles (with either single or dual tank systems). The company Biodrive can actually install engine conversion kits to run on PVO.

The consumption of biodiesel in Switzerland amounted to just over 7.5 Ml in 2009, i.e. an drop of 37% with respect to 2008. The consumption of fuel-PVO, however, showed a significant increase in 2009, i.e. +121% with respect to 2008.

The diagram in the figure below shows the consumption of biodiesel and fuel-PVO over the period 1997-2009 in Switzerland. The data presented below is derived from the Swiss Federal Customs Administration [1], which makes a census of the quantities of biofuels put on the market every year in the frame of the Mineral Oil Tax Law.

Figure : Evolution of biodiesel and fuel-PVO consumption in Switzerland from 1997 to 2009 (in kl/yr)

The consumption of biodiesel and fuel-PVO in Switzerland from 1997 to 2009 is presented in the table below. The data is taken from the statistics of the Swiss Federal Customs Administration.

Tableau : Evolution of the consumption of biodiesel and fuel-PVO in Switzerland over the period 1997-2009 (in kl/yr)

Year Biodiesel [1'000 l] National prod. Imports Total Fuel-PVO [1'000 l] National prod. Imports Total 1997 1'851 - 1'851 - - - 1998 1'664 - 1'664 - - - 1999 1'563 - 1'563 - - - 2000 1'825 - 1'825 - - - 2001 1'937 - 1'937 - - - 2002 1'774 - 1'774 - - - 2003 2'342 - 2'342 - - - 2004 3'262 - 3'262 313 - 313 2005 6'361 - 6'361 529 - 529 2006 8'833 - 8'833 845 - 845 2007 9'756 113 9'869 1'846 - 1'846 2008 11'915 12 11'927 849 158 1'007 2009 6'821 694 7'515 796 1'430 2'226

The panel of biodiesel producers in Switzerland is expected to grow within the next few years, with the arrival on the market of new producers such as RESAG, Centravo GZM or GBF.

The company RESAG is planning to build a plant with a capacity of at least 40 Ml/year in Basel (BS). Depending on political decisions regarding the tax regime of biofuels in Switzerland, the construction of the plant could start in 2008 and production in 2010.

Within the BIODIESEL+ project, the company Centravo GZM plans to build a facility for the production of biodiesel from animal fats, with a capacity of 25'000 t/year (i.e. 28 Ml/year) in Lyss (BE). The raw material should come from the Swiss and/or the European markets. Currently under construction, the plant could start production in 2010.

Finally, the company GBF (Green BioFuel Solvay) is planning to build a biodiesel plant by 2010, with a capacity of 135 Ml/year for an investment of around 80 MCHF. The plant would be located on the industrial park in Bad Zurzach (AG), while raw material for the production of biodiesel would be mainly imported. In particular, the company plans to import jatropha oil produced in Mozambique.

If all of these projects were to be realized, they could boost the production capacity of biodiesel in Switzerland to more than 200 Ml/yr by 2010 (i.e. approximately 10% of the current consumption of diesel fuel in Switzerland). The actual production of biodiesel in Switzerland in the next few years, however, will be closely related to the new Mineral Oil Tax Ordinance, entered into force on 1st July 2008.