Germany records slight increase in 2015 bioethanol production

Germany increased its production of bioethanol by 1.8% to 739,821 tonnes in 2015 compared to the year before, according to new statistics from Germany’s bioethanol trade association (BDBe).

The report from the BDBe showed that 264,665 tonnes of bioethanol were produced from industrial beet in 2005, an increase of 9% from the previous year.

Production of bioethanol made by feed grains decreased by 1.8% to 467,272 tonnes , compared to the same period last year. In addition to this, production of bioethanol made from materials such as food waste fell by 3.9% to 7,884 tonnes year-on-year.

Elsewhere, the consumption of bioethanol in the blends ‘Super, Super E10 and E85’ decreased by 4.5%, according to the BDBe. Overall, 1.17 million tonnes of bioethanol used for fuel applications were consumed.

Despite a decline in consumption of bioethanol for fuel applications, the BDBe expects a positive outlook for the bioethanol industry. This is because the petroleum sector is legally obliged to reduce CO² emissions from fuels.

Increase in sales of bioethanol

Dietrich Klein, CEO of BDBe, said: “Raising the obligation to reduce CO² emissions from fuels to 4% from 2017 could lead to an increase in sales of bioethanol again.

“However, it contradicts the objectives of lower emissions in transport, that this value is to be increased to the revised Emission Act only from 2020 jumped to 6%. A continuous increase of a 0.5% point per year could be appropriate and feasible for the oil industry.”