Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/996 CHAPTER IV — SPECIFIC RULES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MASS BALANCE SYSTEM, THE UNION DATABASE AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF GHG EMISSIONS AND BIOLOGICAL FRACTION OF FUELS
Article 18–Article 23 · 6 articles
Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗
1. The sustainability and GHG emissions saving characteristics and other information describing raw materials or fuel, required for the purposes of Directive (EU) 2018/2001, together with transaction data shall be thoroughly documented and passed on from economic operator to economic operator through the supply chain. Such information shall include data to be transmitted through the whole supply chain as well as data that is specific for the individual transaction, as described in Annex I.
2. The information to be transmitted through the supply chain shall be included in the documentation accompanying the physical shipments of raw material or fuels. It shall also be included in the Union database as soon as this starts operation, in the case of liquid and gaseous transport fuels that are eligible for being counted towards the numerator referred to in Article 27(1), point (b) of Directive (EU) 2018/2001, or that are taken into account for the purposes referred to in Article 29(1), points (a), (b) and (c), first subparagraph, of that Directive.
3. For the purpose of tracing consignments of liquid or gaseous fuels in an interconnected infrastructure and subject to the same mass balancing system, the sustainability and GHG emissions saving characteristics and the other information as described in paragraph 1 shall be registered in the Union database at the first entry point and registered out as consumed at the point of final consumption. If gaseous fuels are withdrawn from an interconnected infrastructure and further transformed into gaseous or liquid fuels, the point of final consumption is considered to be the point of final consumption of the final gaseous or liquid fuels. In such a case, all intermediary stages from the withdrawal of the gaseous fuels from the interconnected infrastructure until the point of final consumption of the final gaseous or liquid fuels have to be registered in the Union Database.
1. Voluntary schemes shall require the economic operators participating in the scheme to use a mass balance system, in accordance with Article 30(1) of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 that allows the mixing of raw material or fuels that differ in their sustainability and GHG emissions saving characteristics.
2. Voluntary schemes shall apply the following rules in the implementation of the mass balance system:
(a)
raw material or fuels shall only be considered to be part of a mixture if they are mixed in a container, at a processing or logistical facility, or at a transmission and distribution infrastructure or site;
(b)
different raw materials shall only be considered to be part of a mixture if they belong to the same product group, except where the raw material is mixed for the purpose of further processing;
(c)
raw materials or fuels shall only be considered to be part of a mixture if they are physically mixed unless they are physically identical or belong to the same product group. Where raw materials or fuels are physically identical or belong to the same product group, they must be stored in the same interconnected infrastructure, processing or logistical facility, transmission and distribution infrastructure or site;
(d)
fuels introduced into a logistical facility or a transmission or distribution infrastructure such as the gas grid or a pipeline network for liquid fuels, stored in LNG or other storage facilities shall only be considered to be part of a mixture pursuant to point (c) where that infrastructure is interconnected;
(e)
economic operators shall be required to keep separate mass balances for raw materials and fuels which cannot be considered part of a mixture. Transfer of information about the sustainability and GHG emissions saving characteristics and sizes between different mass balances shall not be allowed. Pursuant to subparagraphs (a) to (c), raw materials inside biofuels, bioliquids or biomass fuels production facilities are considered to be part of a mixture. Therefore, the requirement to keep separate mass balances shall not apply to such facilities and a single mass balance can be kept;
(f)
the mass balance system shall include information about the sustainability and the GHG emissions characteristics and quantities of raw material and fuels, including information about the quantities of raw material and fuels for which no sustainability or GHG characteristics have been determined;
(g)
where a consignment of raw material or fuel is delivered to an economic operator that is not participating in a voluntary scheme or national scheme, the delivery shall be reflected in the mass balance by withdrawing an equivalent quantity of raw material or fuel. The type of fuel to be booked out shall correspond to the physical nature of the raw material or fuel delivered;
(h)
where a consignment of fuel is used to comply with an obligation placed on a fuel supplier by a Member State, it shall be considered to be withdrawn from the mixture of the mass balance;
(i)
where biofuels, bioliquids or biomass fuels are blended with fossil fuels, the information about the sustainability and GHG emissions saving characteristics assigned to the blend shall correspond to the physical share of the biofuel, bioliquids or biomass fuels in the blend. For biofuels and bioliquids, Member States may further check the veracity of this information in accordance with Article 23;
(j)
the sustainability and GHG emissions saving characteristics of a consignment of raw material or fuel shall be considered as a set. Where consignments are withdrawn from a mixture, any of the sets of sustainability characteristics may be assigned to them provided that the sets of sustainability and GHG emissions saving characteristics are not split and the mass balance is achieved over the appropriate period of time;
(k)
where relevant for transparency reasons, the mass balance system shall include information on whether support has been provided for the production of the fuel or fuel precursor, and if so, the type of support;
(l)
the appropriate period of time for achieving the mass balance shall be 12 months for producers of agricultural biomass and forest biomass and first gathering points sourcing only agricultural biomass and forest biomass, and 3 months for all other economic operators. The start and end of the period shall be aligned with the calendar year or, where applicable, the four quarters of the calendar year. As alternatives to the calendar year, economic operators may also use either the economic year that they use for bookkeeping purposes or another starting point for the mass balance period, provided that the choice is clearly indicated and applied consistently. At the end of the mass balance period, the sustainability data carried forward should be equivalent to the physical stock in the container, processing or logistical facility, transmission and distribution infrastructure or site;
(m)
voluntary schemes shall specify the minimum set of sustainability and GHG emissions saving characteristics, in accordance with Annex I, that need to be passed down the supply chain as well as other information necessary to trace the consignments. In case of liquid or gaseous fuels introduced into an interconnected infrastructure and subject to the same mass balancing system, the respective sustainability and GHG emissions saving characteristics shall be assigned to the consignments entering and exiting the interconnected infrastructure. The voluntary schemes shall also ensure that economic operators correctly enter all relevant information in the Union database.
Determining the GHG emissions of biofuels, biomass fuels and bioliquids
1. Voluntary schemes shall require economic operators to apply the methodology set out in Article 31 of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 when determining the GHG emissions of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels.
2. For the purpose of determining the GHG emissions of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels referred to in paragraph 1, the following specific rules shall apply:
(a)
in taking into account the GHG emissions of inputs, where standard values of emission factors are used, the ones set out in Annex IX shall be applied;
(b)
in determining the emissions from the extraction or cultivation of raw material, the methodology set out in Annex VII shall be applied;
(c)
in determining the emission savings from soil carbon accumulation via improved agricultural management (e sca ), the methodology set out in Annex V shall be applied.
3. EU Member States may submit updated values of the emission factors of their national electricity mix to be considered by the Commission for updating the respective emission factors in Annex IX. After assessing these updated values, the Commission may accept them or alternatively provide the Member State concerned with a justification of the reasons for not doing so. Accepted updated figures will be made available in the section devoted to voluntary schemes and certification on the Commission’s EUROPA website.
4. Emission savings from CO 2 capture and geological storage (Eccs) may only be taken into account where there is valid evidence that CO 2 was effectively captured and safely stored in accordance with Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the geological storage of carbon dioxide ( 5 ) . Where the CO 2 is geologically stored, voluntary schemes shall verify the evidence provided on the integrity of the storage site and the volume of the CO 2 stored. Where a third party carries out the transport or geological storage, proof of storage may be provided through the relevant contracts with and invoices of that third party.
1. Voluntary schemes shall apply the specific rules and exemptions for waste and residues set out in Directive (EU) 2018/2001 only if such raw material falls within the scope of the respective definitions in Article 2 of that Directive.
2. Whether a raw material is to be considered as a waste or residue shall be determined at the point in the supply chain where the material originates. Raw materials shall not be considered as a waste or residue where they or the process for their production have been deliberately modified for the purpose of declaring those materials as wastes or residues.
3. The waste and residues listed in Annex IV shall not be considered as waste or residues where they have been deliberately modified to be declared as a waste or residue.
4. Voluntary schemes shall provide economic operators with instructions and support on how they assess whether raw materials are considered waste and residues. Economic operators shall keep and present to auditors the underlying evidence for their assessments. Voluntary schemes shall establish specific rules for auditing such evidence.
5. For the purposes of complying with the requirements of Article 29(2) of Directive (EU) 2018/2001, voluntary schemes shall verify that the harvesting of agricultural waste and residues does not have a negative impact on the soil quality and the soil carbon stock. Such verification shall ensure that a relevant set of essential soil management or monitoring practices is applied on the land to promote soil carbon sequestration and soil quality, in accordance with Annex VI.
6. The application of the practices, referred to in paragraph 5, may be required and monitored either at national level or at the level of economic operators. At national level, voluntary schemes shall verify that the country of origin, whether it is a Member State or a third country, requires the application of essential soil management practices to address the potential impact of harvesting such residues on soil quality and soil carbon, and has in place mechanisms to monitor and enforce the implementation of those practices. At the level of economic operators, voluntary schemes shall verify that such management practices are effectively applied and monitored at the level of the farm holdings supplying the biomass. Where group auditing is used, voluntary schemes shall verify that those practices are applied by all the economic operators covered by the group audit.
Specific rules for recycled carbon fuels and renewable fuels of non-biological origin
Voluntary schemes shall require economic operators participating in the scheme to apply the methodology set out in Article 28(5) of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 when determining the GHG emissions of recycled carbon fuels and renewable fuels of non-biological origin.
1. Voluntary schemes shall require economic operators participating in the scheme to apply the methodology set out in delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 28(5) of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 when determining the share of biofuel, and biogas for transport, resulting from biomass being processed with fossil fuels in a common process.
2. Economic operators shall be required to thoroughly document the amounts and types of biomass entering the process as well as the amounts of biofuel and biogas that are produced from that biomass. Claims shall be substantiated with evidence including the results of control tests.
3. The frequency for carrying out the control tests referred to in paragraph 2 shall be determined by taking into account the complexity and variability of the key parameters of the co-processing, in such a way as to ensure that at any time the share of biofuels and biogas claimed reflect their actual shares.
4. In conducting audits, particular emphasis shall be placed on verifying the consistency between the amounts of biomass entering the process and the amounts of biofuel and biogas that are recorded as being produced from the biomass. For that purpose, the evidence supplied by the economic operators shall be thoroughly verified and the plausibility of claims shall be checked and compared with industry standards. In carrying out such assessment, particular attention shall be paid to the testing method applied by the economic operator, the system of additional controls put in place, and the calculation method used to incorporate the results of all tests into the calculation of the final share of biofuels and biogas. Auditors shall treat as a major non-compliance any identified deviation in the testing method or inaccuracy in incorporating the results of such tests into the final calculation by the economic operator.
