European Biodiesel Production Climbs 65% in 2005 to Hit Record 27 April 2006
The EU-25 (plus 4 candidate states). Biodiesel production in the 25 European Union member countries (EU-25) hit a new record in 2005, shooting up 65% from 2004 to 2005, an increase from 1.9 million tonnes to 3.2 million tonnes (about 966 million gallons) according to figures released by the European Biodiesel Board.
The European Union is the global leader in biodiesel production. By contrast, the US—the world’s second largest producer—delivered 250,000 tonnes in 2005 (about 75 million gallons—a tripling of its production in 2004.)
Biodiesel production in the EU-25 and US, 2004 to 2005. Click to enlarge. In 2004, 2003 and 2002, European biodiesel production had risen 30–35% when compared to the prior year, marking a continued and aggressive expansion of the European biodiesel sector.
Although most production can be attributed to the EU-15 member states, with Germany the leader by an order of magnitude, the number of European countries with a biodiesel industry has nearly doubled in 2005.
Twenty of the 25 states are now producing biodiesel on a commercial scale, up from 11 countries last year. The EBB estimates that 2006 production capacity will reach 6 million tonnes.
Biodiesel represents around 80% of the EU biofuels production, ethanol being the other major component. Even with the surge in production, however, the EU did not reach its 2% biofuels target set for 2005.
Still, considering only EU diesel markets, biodiesel production got closer than expected to the 2% target, representing today approximately a 1.5% market share of the conventional EU diesel market in terms of energy content.
April 27, 2006 in Biodiesel, Europe | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBack (2)
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Comments Hitting a record with a 65% increase is in the right direction, but let's not forget the prior year was close to zero.
Posted by: Charlie | Apr 27, 2006 8:25:40 AM
To pull some numbers out of the air...
If we guess that a typical European motorist puts on 10,000 miles per year (in America, the number is 12,000 to 15,000), and gets around 40 mpg in a diesel car, then that motorist is consuming around 250 gallons of fuel a year. With 966,000,000 gallons of biodiesel produced per year, that almost 4,000,000 typical motorists worth of fuel.
Increase biodiesel production something like 30 times over, and get more European cargo off the roads and on the rails, and then we can say that biofuels have arrived.
However, conventional biodiesel (from soy) can be produced at the rate of 53.4 gallons per acre of farmland (footnote 1). To achieve 30,000,000,000 gallons of biodiesel, you would need to devote 562,000,000 acres of land to the cause. However, as Europe only contains 401,000,000 acres of farmland (footnote 2), this is not possible at present.
Making use of higher yield crops (such as rapeseed) and crops grown on marginal land that would otherwise not be in production makes the job seem a little more do-able. However, if Europe were to try to go 100% biofuel, they would probably have to both consume much of their forests and import biofuels from tropical regions. But enriching Brazil in place of Iran might be a better thing to do for geopolitical reasons.
Even more so than in the US, a big part of the biofuels bandwagon in the EU is finding a new way to provide handouts to domestic farmers.
The WHO effectively forced the EU to stop mollycoddling its sugar beet farmers last year. They now have to shift to non-food crops because we cannot afford to keep paying them for twiddling their thumbs forever. Rapeseed is a commonly chosen alternative, but the biodiesel produced still costs twice as much as the mineral variety. The energy expended in tending and harvesting the crops is also substantial, though the overall CO2 balance is mildly positive.
Romania and Bulgaria are supposed to become members in 2008, if they can get a grip on their culture of corruption - both have vast areas under cultivation.
Therefore, if energy prices stay high until the EU's mid-term budget review in 2008, there is at least a chance that this subsidy shift from food to biofuels will be accelerated. Photovoltaic parks are another option for arid regions (Andalucia, Sicily, Peloponnes), easing pressure on CO2 emissions by the transportation sector. Sadly, getting rid of subsidies for farmers altogether appears to be just as pie-in-the-sky as raising fuel taxes in the US.
Importing sugar-rich or inedible oil seed crops from tropical countries (e.g. Brazil, India, Thailand) would make sense for the EU. However, they will likely want to use them to meet domestic demand first. West and East Africa could be source countries if the politicians there offer attractive investment climates - sadly, not a likely scenario.
Therefore, the EU will probably need to supplement primary biofuels with cellulose ethanol and BTL sooner than other regions. Increased biogas production could free up natural gas for CNG vehicles.
Posted by: Rafael Seidl | Apr 27, 2006 9:50:19 AM
Looks like these folks clearly see that this is the only way to go in the short term.
Wish the US would put as much effort into biodiesel.
Posted by: Lucas | Apr 27, 2006 9:55:41 AM
NBK-Boston:... Thank you for the valuable information and limits on biofuels production to satisfy Europe's needs. Large areas of Africa could also contribute and bring much needed revenues to that continent. Using Jathropa plants to produce biofuels could further enhance needed revenues from very large unused areas in Africa and other dry unused lands in India, China, USA, Australia etc.
Shifting biofuel feedstock procurement to poorer countries could creat local employment and help them to raise their living standards, if they get a fair price. If not, biofuels could be produced locally and sold at world market price. This would geographically diversify biofuel production and reduce fossil fuel production, consumption and some pollution.
Posted by: Harvey D. | Apr 27, 2006 9:56:48 AM
Africa has same population as Europe, but a very large land area. I guess they can produce fuel for Europe.
South America can also become a big producer. EU's 65 % growth is impressive, USA had 200 % growth. At this rate, they can grab a significant part of Auto fuel market.
