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The EU Commission has proposed a plan to stockpile fertilisers in the wake of the conflict in the Middle East. Expanding crop-based biofuels production would put further strain on the EU’s fertiliser supplies.
Despite European fuel policy now limiting their use, around half of biofuels consumed in the EU and UK still rely on food crops. Each year, around 10 Mt of vegetable oils, primarily rapeseed oil, are used for biodiesel and HVO, alongside roughly 14 Mt of grains like wheat and corn and 3 Mt of sugar crops for ethanol production according to Cerulogy.
Such crops require chemical inputs, particularly fertilisers, to sustain high yields. Maximising productivity and maintaining crop resilience depend on a careful balance of nitrogen (N), phosphate (P₂O₅) and potash (K₂O), the key nutrients underpinning modern agricultural production.
Combining crop-specific nutrient data from the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) with European biofuel feedstock use, we estimate that biofuels currently consume approximately 0.8 million tonnes of nitrogen, 0.2 Mt of phosphate, and 0.2 Mt of potash. This represents roughly 8% of EU and UK total fertiliser nutrients used toward fuel production rather than food.
