Report predicts surge in US biofuel exports to the Netherlands
21/05/2026 (Biodiesel Magazine) - The Netherlands imported $535 million of U.S. biofuels last year. Regulatory changes that came into force on Jan. 1, 2026, could create boost demand for both U.S. biofuels and feedstocks, according to a report filed with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Information Network.
The $535 million of U.S. biofuels imported by the Netherlands last year included $274 million in ethanol and $261 million in renewable diesel, with a negligible amount of biodiesel. In terms of volume, Dutch imports of U.S. biofuel included 326,000 metric tons of ethanol and 168,000 metric tons of renewable diesel.
The revised second Renewable Energy Directive (REDII) was implemented at the start of this year. As part of that implementation, the Netherlands transitioned from a biofuel mandate system based on energy content to a system focused on GHG-based performance, according to the report. The updated regulations also include new obligations for marine and inland bunker fuel suppliers, which must reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of their fuels by 2.9% and 2.5%, respectively, this year.
According to the report, this Dutch system aims to back the EU Emission Trading System and the FuelEU Maritime regulation, which are directed toward shipowners to reduce the GHG emissions of the fuel they buy from the bunker suppliers. The ETS assigns a price to carbon emissions, making fuels with high GHG emissions more expensive. The Netherlands also adheres to the International Maritime Organization strategy, which aims for the uptake of zero or near-zero GHG emission technologies.
While the Dutch regulations require obligations to be met by bunkering the fuel in the Netherlands, the FuelEU Maritime regulations can also be met by bunkering fuel in non-EU ports. Both systems exclude crop-based fuels and have other differing feedstock requirements.
The report estimates that approximately 350,000 metric tons of advanced biofuels will be needed to meet a 2.9% reduction across the entire bunker pool. While the marine shipping sector initially focused on the use of methanol and ammonia to reduce GHG emissions, there has been a recent switch to partly biobased liquefied natural gas (LNG). However, the availability of bio-LNG is limited. The report predicts a gradual shift to ethanol, renewable diesel and biodiesel.