Market Data 2017 on Certified Sustainable Bioethanol used as Fuel

Market data published for 2017 – increase in Super E10 consumption, but less bioethanol on the growing petrol market

The German Bioethanol Industry Association (Bundesverband der deutschen Bioethanolwirtschaft – BDBe) has published the 2017 market data for the production of certified sustainable bioethanol for use as fuel. Production in Germany reached around 0.67 million tonnes in 2017, representing a decline of 8.8% compared with the previous year. Consumption fell slightly by just under 2.0% to around 1.15 million tonnes. On the positive side, sales of Super E10 increased and the greenhouse gas balance of certified domestic bioethanol further improved: this has – according to the most recent official estimates for the year 2016 – reduced carbon emissions by 75% compared to fossil-based petrol. For the current year, the BDBe expects bioethanol consumption to undergo positive development as the mandatory target of the mineral oil companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of all fuels on the market, which was increased at the beginning of 2017, is likely to have an impact.

Production 2017

The bioethanol plants located in the former East German federal states produced a total of 672,930 tonnes of bioethanol from industrial beets, feed grain, residues and waste in 2017. This is a decline of 8.8% compared to the previous year. About one third of the plant raw materials are converted to bioethanol, other plant substances are added to protein feed from grains, concentrated feed from industrial beets and other products for the food and animal feed industry such as biogenic carbon dioxide and gluten.

 Consumption 2017

As in 2016, the German petrol market grew in 2017, generating sales of around 18.3 million tonnes. Bioethanol reached an almost unchanged share of the market of 6.0% by volume. Nearly 1.2 million tonnes of bioethanol were used for fuel, a decline of 1.6% from the previous year.

Sales of Super E10 fuel, which contains up to 10% bioethanol, rose to 2.4 million tonnes which is equivalent to a market share of 13.4%. In the previous year, the market share was 12.6% at 2.3 million tonnes.

At 15.0 million tonnes in 2017, Super E5 achieved a slightly smaller market share of 82.1%. In the previous year, the figure was 15.1 million tonnes, which represents a market share of 82.8%.

Super Plus maintained its market share of the previous year at 4.5% or around 830,000 tonnes.

The mineral oil companies used only 111,440 tonnes of bioethanol in the petrol additive ETBE (Ethyl tert-butyl ether), which is produced from bioethanol and fossil isobutene, 13.5 per cent less than in the previous year.

According to preliminary figures from the Federal Office of Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA), the consumption of bioethanol increased by more than 9% between January and the end of April 2018 in a year-on-year comparison.

Stefan Walter, Managing Director of the BDBe: “We assume that the greenhouse gas savings quota increased on 1 January 2017 will have a positive impact on the use of bioethanol as a petrol admixture this year. The improved greenhouse gas balance of domestic bioethanol shows that the biofuels established on the fuel market can make an increasing contribution to climate change mitigation. Policies should encourage this development by increasing the greenhouse gas savings target starting in 2019 and not just in 2020.”

Text by BDBe Bundesverband der deutschen Bioethanolwirtschaft e.V (German Bioethanol Industry Association).

To read the detailed market data 2017 with more information graphics and tables and for further information click here.