Bioethanol Market Analysis 2024: Domestic Production Sees Substantial Growth

The Federal Association of the German Bioethanol Industry (BDBe) has recently unveiled the 2024 market data concerning the production and usage of certified sustainable bioethanol in the country. Germany's domestic bioethanol production capacity showed a significant upward curve, marking nearly 745,000 tons in 2024. This represents an 11% jump compared to the prior year's stats.

In a fuel market where approximately 17.8 million tons of petrol, constituting a 2% increase from the previous year, around 6.9 volume-percent bioethanol was incorporated into the mix, up from 6.8 volume-percent in 2023. The consumption of bioethanol, which was compounded into petrol variants, such as Super E10, Super Plus, and Super E5, or used for Ethyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether (ETBE) production, saw an elevation of 2.6%, reaching an impressive 1.3 million tons (up from 1.25 million tons in 2023).

The market share of the Super E10 petrol variety grew from 25.9% in 2023 to 27.4% in 2024. Super E10 sales volumes saw an increase from 4.5 million tons the previous year, to just under 4.9 million tons. Super E5 cornered a 67.6% market share with an impressive 12.0 Million tons in 2024, yet despite the same sales volume, it had fractionally lost market share from the preceding year's 69%. Super Plus managed to secure a 5% market share, with 886,750 tons sold, performing marginally better than in 2023.

A Significant Surge in Bioethanol Production at 744,000 Tons for 2024

German bioethanol production made a noticeable comeback in 2024, with an output of approximately 744,000 tons, showcasing an impressive 11% rise from the previous year. Most notably, the manufacture of bioethanol from sugar beet materials registered a 78% swell in 2024 as compared to the year before.

Bio-refineries domestically processed more than a million tons of sugar beet and about 2.6 million tons of animal feed grain into certified sustainable bioethanol and bi-products including protein feed, biogenic carbon dioxide, organic fertilizers, and biogas in 2024. Wheat remains the integral raw material for bioethanol production in Germany.

The chemical and pharmaceutical industry are also increasingly turning to bioethanol for the production of sustainable synthetics, sanitizers, and cosmetics. Correspondingly, German bioethanol's utilization within the pharmaceutical and chemical sectors increased markedly by 39.4% at 103,827 tons in 2024.

Albeit, the food and beverage sectors continue to be crucial consumers of bioethanol production, their utilization slightly dipped by 1.2% in comparison to 2023, accounting for 97,973 tons.