Biodiesel consumption in Germany declines almost 15%

In the first half of 2024, biodiesel consumption declined sharply in Germany compared to the previous year.

Ethanol use increased during the same period. 

According to information published by Germany’s Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA), consumption of biodiesel in June decreased 3 percent month-on-month to 197,700 metric tons.

In the year-on-year comparison, the decline amounts to as much as 14.6 percent.

Consumption of diesel reached a volume of 2.5 million tons in June, up 4.7 percent on the previous month, while remaining 3.6 percent below the previous year’s volume.

As a result, the incorporation rate dipped significantly to 7.4 percent, a level below the half-year average and clearly below the rate of 8.3 percent recorded in June 2023.

In the first half of 2024, the use of biodiesel for blending amounted to around 1.2 million tons, down 7 percent from the same period in 2023.

Consumption of B7 diesel fuel reached just over 14.2 million tons, falling almost 5 percent short of the previous year’s volume.

Consequently, according to research by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft (mbH), the average incorporation in blends dropped 0.2 percentage points to 7.7 percent compared to the year-earlier period.

The use of ethanol also declined in June.

At 105,800 tons, consumption was down 2.1 percent on the previous month.

Ethanol use in blends decreased 3.3 percent, although it remained 3 percent above the level recorded in June 2023.

On the other hand, the use in ethyl tertiary-butyl ether (ETBE) rose 14.5 percent month-on-month, while falling 40.4 percent compared to June 2023.

Overall, the use of ethanol in the first half of the year totaled 636,400 tons, exceeding the previous year’s volume by about 8.3 percent.

During the same period, gasoline consumption rose 0.7 percent.

As a consequence, the incorporation rate increased 0.5 percentage points to 7.4 percent.

In light of these trends, the Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen e. V. (UFOP) said it expects sales of biodiesel and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) in Germany to continue their downward trajectory.

The association has projected overall demand for 2024 at 2.4 million tons, equivalent to the biodiesel and HVO sales volume in 2019.

That year, legislation stipulated a greenhouse-gas (GHG) quota obligation of 4 percent (2024’s is 9.35 percent), but it did not allow for the option to double or triple count biofuels from specific waste oils and for e-mobility purposes. Nor was it possible to offset Upstream Emission Reduction certificates, which UFOP said are suspected of being fraudulent.

Making reference to the planned revision of GHG-quota obligation legislation and redefinition of the annually increasing quota requirements, the UFOP has called for an ambitious increase of the GHG-quota obligation to compensate for multiple crediting and the necessary increase in the proportional share of e-mobility in transport performance.

Since the diesel-fuel standard caps the incorporation of biodiesel at 7 percent by volume and the market for B10 is not accessed through public filling stations, the forthcoming amendment of legislation should go along with the development of a fuel strategy that, in particular, starts off the use of biodiesel in heavy-goods vehicles.

Without such strategy, the UFOP said it fears that German biodiesel producers may have to export more of their output, giving away GHG-reduction potential to other member states.

“The UFOP therefore regards Federal Minister of Transportation Volker Wissing’s one-eyed focus on paraffinic fuels as inappropriate,” the organization stated. “Emphasizing the bridging function of biofuels from cultivated biomass in particular, the UFOP has stressed the need for a comprehensive strategic approach that includes all compliance options.”