- CRECEMOS was created to promote the circular economy and renewable fuels in Spain, both fundamental pillars for achieving the European Union’s objectives to decarbonize transport
- The association is made up of 27 entities that represent approximately 6% of Spanish GDP and generate nearly 200,000 direct jobs
- The association aims to promote an inclusive regulation for renewable fuels and calls for the development of a supportive fiscal framework, comparable to those existing for other options that contribute to reducing emissions.
Madrid, July 11, 2024. The Spanish Association for Renewable Fuels, Circular Economy, and Sustainable Mobility (CRECEMOS) today presented its program to boost the value chain for renewable fuels and the circular economy and accelerate the decarbonization of transport (land, sea, and air) in Spain.
The association was created to promote industry based on this value chain that will generate employment, increase energy security, and create new business opportunities in rural areas.
CRECEMOS offers a multi-sectorial vision and collaboration to formulate a regulation that includes renewable fuels as a complement to other solutions, such as electrification or renewable hydrogen, to reduce CO2 emissions from transport. This will help boost the investments needed to scale up their production. In addition, CRECEMOS calls for a more supportive tax framework for these fuels, as is already the case with other options that contribute to decarbonization, to encourage demand and contribute immediately to the decarbonization objectives.
CRECEMOS encompasses a large part of the value chain of the production and use of renewable fuels for the decarbonization of mobility through the representation of 27 companies and associations working in waste management, energy, industry, transport, retail, production, and services. Currently, the member companies of CRECEMOS represent approximately 6% of the Spanish GDP and generate nearly 200,000 direct jobs at its 79 industrial facilities throughout Spain, including waste management and recovery plants and renewable fuel production centers.
Renewable fuels are the result of the valorization of waste, converted into raw material to produce these fuels, thus closing the sustainability cycle and contributing to the efficient management of resources, as well as contributing to the decarbonization of mobility.
The start of a facilitating partnership
The CRECEMOS presentation ceremony brought together representatives from both public institutions and industry. Álvaro Fernández Heredia, secretary general for Sustainable Mobility of the Spanish Government, highlighted during his opening speech that “the main challenges identified by the Ministry of Transport are basically: to continue the process of decarbonization of the transport system and to move towards a healthier, more sustainable, and safer mobility. These challenges require a joint and coordinated effort between the public and the private sectors, as well as a strong political and social will to promote the necessary changes. The Sustainable Mobility Law, currently being processed, will in the near future establish the measures for the decarbonization of transport.”
Mónica de la Cruz, director general of CRECEMOS, stressed the commitment of the association to work with all actors involved to develop effective policies, share knowledge, and foster innovation. “The dialogue and support of our institutions is essential to promote and provide the necessary certainty for investments throughout the value chain,” she said.
For his part, Sergio Treviño, chairman of CRECEMOS and CEO of the transport company Sesé, focused on the need “to promote the circular economy in a way that allows us to give value to what today is waste, given that we are immersed in an unprecedented transformation that presents us with an enormous challenge: to reconcile environmental objectives with the competitiveness of our industry. Our common, ultimate goal is to reduce the carbon emitted into the atmosphere, and we must contemplate the efficiency of available technological solutions, such as renewable fuels.”
There was also a round table with the participation of Sergio Atares, CEO of Fertinagro; Juan Lladó, chariman of Técnicas Reunidas; Josu Jon Imaz, CEO of Repsol; Miguel Carsi, chairman and CEO of Toyota España; Sergio Treviño, chairman of CRECEMOS and CEO of Sesé; Iñigo Meirás, CEO of Logista; and Alberto Gutiérrez, chairman of Airbus España and Executive Vice President of Airbus Special Projects.
The event was closed by Rebeca Torró Soler, Secretary of State for Industry, who said: “It is necessary to make a firm commitment to renewable energy generation, the circular economy and more sustainable mobility. Spain has a great attraction for growth in all these areas, and we have committed companies with a consolidated track record. A fact that has become a competitive advantage to anchor and further develop our country’s industries and, in turn, to be able to attract new industrial projects. In order for industry to continue its successful transition towards a more environmentally friendly model, the support of the Administration is essential. To this end, we have different instruments and aids, among which I would like to highlight the transforming effect of the industrial PERTES“.
The role of renewable fuels
Based on the principles of the circular economy and the optimal use of renewable raw materials, renewable fuels are an ideal solution to effectively address the current challenge of waste valorization. A raw material that will enhance the production of biofuels, thus closing the sustainability cycle and contributing to the efficient management of resources, as well as contributing to the decarbonization of mobility, as a whole.
Implementing the use of renewable fuels in key sectors such as transportation can accelerate the transition to a more sustainable mobility, strengthening industrial competitiveness and aligning Spain with global trends in efficiency and sustainability.