Members of ePURE produced 5.71 billion litres, or 4.5 million tonnes, of ethanol in 2022, operating at close to 80% of their installed capacity, recent data from the European renewable ethanol association showed.
The ePURE members account for 85% of the total EU installed capacity. These companies also produced 5.9 million tonnes of food and feed co-products, including high-protein animal feed, so they delivered more food than fuel, the organisation highlighted again. Their co-products output also included 1.1 million tonnes of captured biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2). According to the data, over 53% of the ePURE members’ capacity had been outfitted with a CO2 capture system last year.
Of the ethanol produced, 84.7% was for fuel use, 8% was for food and beverage use and 7.4% for industrial use including hand sanitiser. In terms of feedstock, 47.8% of the ethanol was from corn, 22.3% from wheat, 13.9% from sugars, and 1.9% from other cereals and starch-rich crops.
According to the statistics, EU27 ethanol imports rose 51% from 2021 to reach a record-high of 2,127 million litres in 2022.
