Biodiesel sales increased slightly in 2018

In Germany, UFOP reports that biodiesel sales increased slightly in 2018 compared with 2017, rising by about 0.2 million tons to 2.4 million tons. In the view of UFOP, it should be emphasized that with an anticipated decline in sales of fossil diesel from 36.5 million t in 2017 to 35.3 million t in 2018, the admixture share is expected to increase from 5.7 percent to 6.3 percent is recorded.

The driver for the blending of biofuels is the legally prescribed greenhouse gas reduction obligation and the associated sanctions regulation. The GHG quota rose to 4 percent for the years 2017 to 2019. In the case of failure to comply with the obligation, companies in the oil and gas industry face severe fines of EUR 460 per t CO2. However, BAFA data include the proportion of hydrogenated vegetable oils (HVO). This information as well as the question of the share of raw materials in the total sales volume can only be answered after evaluation of the sustainability certificates by the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE).

Due to the unchanged conditions on the raw material and vegetable oil markets, which are still characterized by surpluses and price pressure, UFOP expects a similarly high proportion of biodiesel from waste oils and vegetable oil as in 2017.