German biodiesel and ethanol doing better but still down compared to January 2020

In Germany, UFOP reports that in January 2021, around 175,400 tons of biodiesel were used for blending in Germany, down around 16% from the previous month and down almost 21% from January 2020. January 2021 consumption of bioethanol increased 1.9% compared to the previous month, yet fell almost 25% short of January 2020.

Consumption of diesel fuel declined even more sharply in January 2021: 2.03 million tons translate to a reduction of just about 22 per cent month-on month and one fourth on January 2020. This means that the decline in consumption of diesel fuel exceeded that of biodiesel for blending.

For this reason, the incorporation rate rose compared to the previous month. The incorporation rate to satisfy the cap on greenhouse gas emissions was 8 per cent, which compares to 7.5 per cent the previous month and 7.6 per cent in January 2020.

January 2021 use of bioethanol totalled 77,300 tonnes. Bioethanol for blending accounted for the lion’s share (86.5 per cent). The remaining 13.5 per cent was bioethanol for use in ETBE. Taken together, January 2021 consumption of bioethanol in Germany increased 1.9 per cent compared to the previous month. On the other hand, it fell almost 25 per cent short of the January 2020 figure.

Consumption of petrol declined almost 22 per cent on the previous month to 905.000 tonnes. Due to the pandemic, the shortfall, compared with January 2020, was as much as approximately 30 per cent. Whereas the use of bioethanol in blends declined only slightly on the previous month, the decline in consumption of petrol was much more pronounced. This caused the incorporation rate to rise to 7.9 per cent – a rate considerably higher than the previous month’s 6.2 per cent and also more than the 7 per cent seen in January 2020. It was also the highest incorporation rate of bioethanol in petrol since December 2014.