Around the world on one hectare
 With increasing worldwide demand for plant-based raw materials, it is becoming ever more important to use cultivation area – already a scarce resource – as efficiently as possible to protect the environment while securing the food supply.
According to Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. (FNR) estimates, around two million hectares (17% of the total agricultural cropland) of German land were used for raw-material crop cultivation – mainly for energy utilisation – in 2007. Rapeseed, which is especially used in the manufacture of biodiesel, accounts for around half of the figure.
A comparison between various biofuels reveals the potential difference in net energy gain. One hectare of arable land produces enough biomethane for a car with average fuel consumption to drive 67,600 km or over forty thousand miles – no less than one and a half times around the earth.
This corresponds to savings of five thousand litres of fossil fuel. Biodiesel from rapeseed or ethanol from cereal crops or corn would take you just a third of the distance at most.
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