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Sales of bioethanol increased by 33% last year in France. Fuel has benefited from the rise in oil prices.
In a Europe that is massively converting to electric or hybrid, France and Sweden are the two great defenders of bioethanol. In 2021, sales of this fuel produced from beets, cereals or sugar residues, mixed with gasoline, increased by 33% at the pump, according to figures from the Bioethanol Collective. The fuel known under the code E85 represents 4% of gasoline sales today in France. Last year, 30,000 French motorists installed a conversion box on their vehicle, twice as many as in 2020.
If the French take the bait, it is mainly because of the price: bioethanol is half the price of gasoline thanks to very advantageous taxation in particular. It is also a selling point since it is presented by its promoters as the ” purchasing power fuel ».
France produces a quarter of European bioethanol
What also works in its favor is its image as a green fuel “good for the energy transition” conveyed by farmers and builders. Compatible engines emit between 30 and 50% less greenhouse gases than those running on gasoline.
In France, biofuel represents 0.6% of agricultural land according to the national union of agricultural alcohol producers. A quarter of French beet acreage is now dedicated to the production of ethanol. This allows France to produce a quarter of European biofuel and even to export it to its neighbours. But the sector wants to do more and continue to promote the use of bioethanol.
But it comes up against a limit, that of the ceiling introduced in 2015 for Europe: a State cannot incorporate more than 7% of biofuel in its energy dedicated to transport. A quota that the biofuel sector is now asking to modify so that it is shared at European level (the average being 4.5%). In other words, France would like to take advantage of the quota not used by some of its European neighbors.