Biofuel testing part of EU's 2009 spending

The European Commission's latest financial report shows biofuel testing among the things the EU spent money on in 2009.

Under the banner of Fuel-Path, the commission is working on ways to make sure that 14 per cent of the continent's energy mix is drawn from sources of biological origin by 2020.

With this in mind, part of the research and development funding allocated by the EU during 2009 went towards biofuel testing schemes that contribute towards the aim.

More than 1,000 projects in all were granted funding across the full range of research activities carried out by scientists in the EU.

This equated to total funding of €6.3 billion (£5.4 billion) under the commission's Seventh Framework Programme.

Recent announcements from the programme have included efforts to introduce large-scale carbon capture and storage.

This is part of the ambition to reduce carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by 50 per cent by 2050.