Brussels, 23/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - EurObserv'ER, a consortium of five European organisations promoting renewable energies within the European Union, recently published its latest “barometer” which shows that energy crops for biofuel production “are redesigning the European Union agricultural landscape a little more each year”. The first estimates for 2006 indicate that EU biofuel consumption reached 5.38 Mtoe (millions of tonnes oil equivalent), or 1.8% of total fuel consumption intended for transport (compared with 1% in 2005).
European Union consumption rose from 3 million toe (Mtoe) in 2005 to nearly 5 Mtoe in 2006, a 79.7% increase. In 2006, biodiesel represented 71.6% of the energy content of biofuels used in transport, far ahead of bioethanol (16.3%) and other biofuels (12.1%). Germany remained Europe's largest consumer of biofuels in 2006, with an estimated consumption of 2.8 million tonnes of biodiesel (equivalent to 2,408,000 toe), 0.71 million tonnes of vegetable oil (628,492 toe) and 0.48 million ones of bioethanol (307,200 toe). This consumption corresponds to an energy content incorporation rate of more than 6%. France was the second largest biofuel consumer in 2006. According to the Ministry of Industry, France's consumption increased by 62.7% to 682,000 toe (1.6% of French fuel consumption). Biodiesel accounts for 78% of this amount, far ahead of bioethanol, with 22%. After France come Austria (275,200 toe), Sweden (233,573 toe), Spain (177,431 toe), Italy (177,000 toe), the United Kingdom (176,695 toe), Poland (94,766 toe), Greece (69,590 toe), Portugal (58,300 toe), Lithuania (26,586 toe), the Netherlands (20,480 toe), the Czech Republic (19,100 toe), Hungary (10,742 toe), Denmark (3,530 toe), Slovenia (2,862 toe), Ireland (2,656 toe), Malta (788 toe), Finland (768 toe) and Luxemburg (538 toe).
Rapid growth industry
The main biodiesel sector players are to be found in Germany and France. The clear leader is the French Diester Industrie, which has several production sites in France. Next year, Diester Industrie will open three new sites, each with a production capacity of 250,000 tonnes. By the end of 2008, the company will boast a total production capacity of approximately 2 million tonnes, compared with only 710,000 tonnes in 2006. The group's total investment is expected to exceed €2billion.
Europe's leading producer may be French, but Germany remains the leading European producer country, having several large companies. The biggest of these is ADM Oelmühle Hamburg AG, a subsidiary of the American group Archer Daniels Midland Company. The firm's current strategy is to increase its production capacity with the commissioning in 2006 of a new 275,000 tonne production unit in Mainz and the 150,000 tonne extension of its plant in Hamburg in 2007.
The Spanish group Abengoa, through its American subsidiary Abengoa Bioenergy, is the European leader in the production of bioethanol intended for use as fuel. It operates three production plants in Spain, with a total production capacity of 526 million litres. The group is currently building a fourth production plant in France in the Lacq petrochemical complex in the department of Pyrenées-Atlantiques. Another major player on bioethanol production is the German sugar group Südzucker. The French agro-industrial group Téréos is also increasing its bioethanol production capacity.
Although there are bioethanol promotion mechanisms in most member states, it must be recognised that a significant number of countries will not reach the threshold set by the directive (5.75 % biofuel share of total consumption in 2010). In March the European Council approved the principle of a binding obligation (unlike the current directive) of a 10% biofuel incorporation rate of total petrol and diesel consumption by 2020. This decision should be confirmed by the Council and the European Parliament with the adoption of a new directive.
The five companies which make up the consortium are: Observ'ER, the Observatory of Renewable Energies (Paris, France); Eurec Agency, the European Association of renewable Energy Research Centres (Brussels, Belgium); Eufores, the European Forum for Renewable Energy Sources (Brussels, Belgium); Erec, the European Renewable Energy Council (Brussels, Belgium); and the Josef Stefan Institute, the Energy Efficiency Centre (Ljubljana, Slovenia).
EurObserv'ER barometers can be viewed and downloaded at the following addresses: http://www.energies-renouvelables.org - http://www.eurec.be - http://www.eufores.org - http://www.erec.org - http://www.ieo.pl - http://www.europa.eu.int - http://www.rcp.ijs.si (lc)