Founded in 1984, the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CRFA) is a non-profit organization with a mission to promote the use of value-added products made from renewable resources through consumer awareness and government liaison activities.

CRFA members and supporting organizations provide Canadians with renewable, clean-burning Ethanol and Biodiesel – fuels that help fight climate change and combat pollution and smog. At the same time, they are working to develop the next generation of Biofuels, which will provide even greater environmental and economic benefits.

Our Vision

Canada’s energy future can not be overly dependent on a single fuel source such as fossil. It is essential to diversify our fuel mix with clean-burning, renewable fuels and biobased products in order to meet our energy needs while protecting our environment, and ensure Canada’s economic prosperity in the long term.

Biofuels – whether ethanol, biodiesel, or advanced materials – are now an established and integral part of our energy market. Significant progress has been made in building Canada’s domestic renewable fuels industry but this is only the beginning of what a resource and talent rich country like Canada is capable of.

Our Mission

With our abundance of natural biomass, Canada is well positioned to be a world leader in the production and development of renewable fuels and sustainable products. The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association is determined to seize this economic opportunity for the benefit of all Canadians – today and well into the future.

Our Action Plan

CRFA members have built a capable platform for biofuels production and technology. We are working together to help build Canada’s bioeconomy from our already growing biofuels industry. A cleaner, more prosperous energy future for Canada is within reach. Our comprehensive new plan “Evolution and Growth” outlines how we can best capitalize on the sizable economic and environmental benefits of our domestic biofuels industry, and sets a clear pathway forward for continued growth and expansion across the entire bioeconomy.

Our mission for this evolution is to elevate Canada to a global leader in clean fuels and sustainable products.

Our Members

CRFA is the only national voice for Canada’s renewable fuels industry and represents the full spectrum of the domestic biofuels value-chain. Our members include:

• Grain and cellulose ethanol producers
• Biodiesel and renewable diesel producers
• Fuel technology providers
• Feedstock suppliers
• And many others

An economic growth engine

Every litre of renewable fuel used in Canada represents one more litre of petroleum-based fuel that we can conserve or export into a growing international market for energy. This extends our natural petroleum supply here at home, and advances Canada’s reputation as a responsible producer and supplier of energy.

Investments in biofuels development deliver a significant return on investment (ROI).  The latest economic assessment estimates that the federal government will realize a net ROI of more than $3.7 billion on their $2.2 billion commitment made in 2007.

Since then Canada’s renewable fuels industry has grown to 26 renewable fuels plants, which have delivered more than $5 billion in economic activities and 14,000 jobs to date.

Our industry continues to generate gross annual economic benefits in excess of $3.5 billion to the Canadian economy. Additionally, every year more than 1,000 jobs are being created – many of which in small, rural communities in need of good employment opportunities.

Real environmental benefits

Canada’s transportation sector accounts for nearly one third of our country’s total carbon dioxide emitted into the environment. This is the single largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

We already know that biofuels are cleaner burning than petroleum and diesel. When compared to petroleum-based fuels on a lifecycle basis, biofuels can significantly reduce GHG emissions. Ethanol reduces GHGs by as much as 62%, biodiesel does up to 99%, and cellulosic biofuels up to 87%. Current biofuels use in Canada reduces carbon emissions by 4.2 megatonnes every year – which is equivalent to removing 1 million cars from our roads. In higher concentrations, biofuels significantly reduce air toxins, ultra-fine particulates, and other harmful airborne emissions that are damaging to both our health and planet.

Biofuels are the cleanest and most sustainable source of fuel available. The more biofuels we use in our national fuel pool, the greater the environmental and health benefits we will receive. Expanding the use of biofuels would affect even greater GHG reductions from otherwise extremely carbon intensive industries such as transportation, mining, and oil sands development.

To date, Canada’s biofuels policy remains the single most effective policy tool for reducing GHGs within the transportation sector. There are no technical barriers to expanding inclusion requirements for renewable diesel from 2 to 5%. Doing so will encourage even greater investments in Canada and our emerging bioeconomy.

Building Canada’s Bioeconomy

The Canadian bioeconomy offers a unique opportunity to address interconnected environmental challenges while achieving sustainable economic growth. With significant progress already achieved to date, Canadian producers of renewable fuels continue to innovate and incorporate progressive technologies into their successful businesses. The ethanol and biodiesel plants of today are poised to become the bio-refineries of tomorrow.

Our producers are creating a wide variety of valued-added outputs from conventional feedstocks by integrating emerging and break-through bioprocessing technologies into their existing production platforms. They are effectively solving multiple environmental problems at once by converting agricultural waste, forestry residue and even solid municipal waste into cellulosic biofuels. While others still discuss new ways to harvest biofuels, Canadian producers are already doing it, and doing it well. Innovation is truly the economic driver of our energy future.