Happy birthday, Biofuel Cities European Partnership!

The Biofuel Cities European Partnership encourages networking and the forming of new partnerships amongst its participants. For these purposes the platform provides easy access to biofuel actors in the EU, a discussion forum and twinning co-operation opportunities.

The platform also offers its members extensive information. Resources are found on the platform’s website, along with a Europe-wide directory of 250 projects and activities.

Attention
But the services and facilities the platform offers is not the only reason for the success of Biofuel Cities European Partnership. The public interest in biofuels application, as illustrated by the attention the topic has been receiving in the media and on political agendas lately, explains part of the success as well, as the platform stated in a press release earlier this week.

Activities
There is a more active side to the platform as well. Since its launch in July 2007 several workshops were held, dealing with topics such as the role of biofuel end-users or the local implementation of clean fuels and biofuels policy measures.

What is more, two study tours have been organised, in Swedish capital Stockholm and the Austrian city of Graz. The tours offered opportunities to demonstrate practical examples of biofuel application and learn from good-practice examples.

Next year
The project is scheduled to last another year. So what will next year bring? Two developments are crucial: the most recent European policy measures on Biofuels and the concerns about the potential risks of biofuel production, which have recently raised media attention and public debate.

Biofuel Cities, the mother project to the Biofuel Cities European Partnership, takes a neutral stand and intends to contribute to the debate on how biofuels can be integrated into the European energy mix and transport solutions in a sustainable manner.

The platform is currently working on three practical tools for its members. The first is a handbook for the integrated implementation of Clean Fuel Policies, the second a technical guidance document on biofuels and their applications. The latter will provide practical information to local fleet owners and fleet operators on facts and experiences with alternative fuels. By the end of the year, the third tool must be ready: an easy-to-use, online monitoring system for participants to assess their biofuel projects and results.

Biofuels Cities project
The Biofuel Cities European Partnership was created and is managed by the Biofuel Cities project, which aims to demonstrate the broadscale use of new and innovative biofuel technologies. Biofuel Cities covers the complete chain from feedstock to biofuels production, distribution and utilisation in vehicle fleets.

The project is co-ordinated by seven partners: SenterNovem, Exergia, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, INEM - International Network for Environmental Management, IPiEO - Institute for Fuels and Renewable Energy, NEN - Netherlands Standardisation Institute and VITO - Flemish Institute for Technological Research.