European ethanol’s greenhouse gas savings increase 8.5% in 2015: new report

September 25, 2016 |

In the EU, ethanol’s direct greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) savings compared to fossil fuel have increased from 59% in 2014 to 64% in 2015, an increase of 8.5% against the 2014 figure, according to new industry statistics published by the European renewable ethanol association ePURE. The European renewable ethanol industry – Annual statistics report 2016*, independently audited by Swiss-based company Copartner, confirms that European ethanol is a low carbon transport fuel that can very significantly reduce average direct GHG emissions from petrol.

Another key finding of the report is that virtually all 99% of the agricultural crops and residues used to produce European ethanol in 2015 were grown in Europe, providing European farmers with what EPURE termned “a vital source of income at a time when the EU agriculture sector faces increasingly negative pricing constraints.”

A summary of the annual statistics report:

Greenhouse gas savings
– EU ethanol’s average direct GHG emission saving increased by 8.5%, to 64% in 2015.
– Since the EU biofuels policy was introduced in 2009, EU ethanol’s average savings increased by 28%, from 52% in 2009 to 64% in 2015.

Ethanol production
– Ethanol production remained static in 2015, with 5.8 billion litres produced.
– 78% (4.54 billion litres) of the ethanol produced was sold to the biofuel market.

Co-products
– European ethanol producers produced 5.88 million tonnes of co-products in 2015, of which 84% (4.89 million tonnes) was high-protein, GMO-free animal feed.

Feedstocks
– In 2015, 37% of the ethanol produced was from corn, followed by wheat (33%), sugars (20%), with the rest being other cereals and cellulosic material, wastes and residues.
– Virtually all of the feedstocks (99%) used to produce EU ethanol in 2015 were grown in the EU by European farmers.

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Category: Research

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