My folks go to Europe yearly. My Mom's cousin is the GM of VW/Audi dealer in Hamburg. Europe is big on Rape seed oil (I believe it's called Canola oil here, more pleasant name). My Dad tells me there is a much bigger interest in bio or semi bio fuel there. They seem to have more corporate interest in developing alternative fuels than we do here.
Bio fuels make sense. They are almost non-poluting, renewable, give the farmers a boost, still need refineries, distribution etc.. I don't think we will totally do away wil petro fuels in our lifetime. The Europeans are more motivated due to costs, populations and other aspects that affect them.
When gas was pushing 2.00 there was a lot of talk about bio fuels, now it has dropped to 1.15 here. Most people are not concerned anymore.