ISCC to launch biofuels traceability database, alongside existing EU pilot

International Sustainability & Carbon Certification is to launch its own database to trace biofuels, separate to already announced plans for an EU database, amid calls for more robust renewable fuels certification.

ISCC will implement a traceability database by the end of the year, it said in a statement Oct. 13.

"This database will also connect to the European Commission's Union database, which is currently under development," ISCC said. A pilot program for the ISCC database, involving ISCC system users, is now underway, covering the value chain for waste materials from the point of origin down to the biofuel producer. Material uptake from the point of origin will be supported by a mobile app, the ISCC statement said.

The push for tighter certification has come alongside concerns that a drop in biodiesel prices in 2022 was due to apparently mislabeled Asian imports that undercut rigorously certified European product.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights assessed the RED FAME 0 European biodiesel premium on an FOB ARA basis down 62% from its highest point in December to a record low $245/mt on April 14. Platts assessed Biodiesel Europe Premium RED FAME 0 FOB ARA at $236/mt on Oct. 13.

"The industry has been preparing for digital traceability and been demanding clarity and UDB training," Patrick Lynch, CEO of Bioledger, told S&P Global Oct. 15. Bioledger is a services provider that provides access to the UBD.

The UBD is seen as the European Commission's response to traceability concerns. Each economic operator along the entire supply chain will have to register all transactions of all relevant feedstocks, intermediate products and fuels, which can only occur between entities on the UBD. Registration under the UDB will be compulsory for all economic operators from Jan. 1, 2024, according to the EC, although it is not yet clear when transactions must start being registered.

The European Waste-based & Advanced Biofuels Association said on Oct. 3 that it was starting a three-month trial of the UDB for its members under the guidance of Bioledger.