Bioethanol use in the EU is expected to increase by 13% by 2030 compared to 2022, according to the recently released EU agricultural outlook 2022-32 report.
Bioethanol demand is forecast to reach 7.7 billion litres per year in 2030 and then to decline to 7.4 billion litres per year by 2032.
While the use of diesel and gasoline in 2032 is projected to fall by 21% to 155 billion litres and by 18% to 63 billion litres, respectively, compared to 2020-2022, demand for biofuels is seen to stay relatively stable at almost 20 billion litres per year, underpinned by expected increases in obligatory fuel blending rates.
Maize is set to remain the main feedstock for ethanol production, although its share is forecast to fall to 33% from 45%. The overall share of crops – cereals, sugar beet and molasses - used to make ethanol will decline to 72% by 2032 from 90% in 2019-2021 as more ethanol will be produced from waste, residues and from other sources.
ePURE, the voice of the European ethanol industry, also noted that while the report forecasts a 4.7% delline in EU protein demand, demand for medium-protein feed such as ethanol co-product DDGS is seen to slightly increase.
