Industry & Market Numbers

• Industry turnover 2011: EUR 12.1 billion
• Investment in bioenergy plants 2011: EUR 2.9 billion
• Exported bioenergy in 2011 as share of total production: 17 %
• 128,000 employees in 2011
• Consumption of fossil diesel fuel in 2010: 32.1 million tonnes
• Consumption of fossil gasoline in 2010: 19.6 million tonnes

^{Sources:
BBE - German Bioenergy Industry Association 2012
MWV - Association of the German Petroleum Industry 2012}

Market | Personnel

MARKET - In 2011, around 8 percent of total final energy consumption in Germany came from bioenergy sources. With 36.9 billion kWh, around 9 percent more electricity was supplied than in the previous year. Approximately 91 percent of heat generated from renewable energy sources in 2011 was produced from biomass. Bioenergy is the most diverse renewable energy source in the country: In 2011, some 5.4 percent of fuel consumption, 9.4 percent of heat, and 6.1 percent of electricity consumption were covered by bioenergy. The industry has set itself a number of concrete goals for the future: 18 percent of power, 15 percent of heat and 13 percent of fuel consumption should be generated from bioenergy sources by 2030.

PERSONNEL - Thanks to its internationally renowned universities and outstanding R&D institutes covering an extensive range of bioenergy topics, Germany offers a large pool of highly qualified workers.

"The German biofuels market provides one of the best frameworks worldwide for successfully shaping the post-oil area."

Thomas Grigoleit, Director Renewable Energies & Resources, Germany Trade & Invest

R&D | Incentives

R&D - German research institutes are working closely with industry partners to develop new technologies and bring them to market quickly. Research focuses on biogas and gas processing, gasification technologies, the production of biofuels by means of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and enzymatic conversion methods as well as energy crop sciences and technological, economical, and environmental studies.

INCENTIVES - Germany offers numerous incentives for all investors - regardless of whether they are from Germany or otherwise. There is a large selection of programs designed to support a wide variety of business activities at different stages of the investment process available. Support ranges from cash incentives for the reimbursement of direct investment costs to incentives for labor and research and development (R&D).

Legal & Political Framework

The biofuels strategy of the German Federal Government specifies a compulsory blending of traditional fossil fuels (diesel and gasoline) with a minimum share of biofuels and claims a radical reduction of greenhouse gases produced by fuels used for transportation.

E85 and second generation biofuels are exempt from taxes until 2015. For pure biofuels, there also exists the further option of tax breaks. The Renewable Energy Sources Act regulates attractive feed-in tariffs for power from biomass by law. As to heat generation, the German Federal Government has established the obligatory use of renewable energies for the heating of newly constructed buildings with its Renewable Energies Heat Law.

Physical Infrastructure | Stable Investment Framework

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE - Germany disposes of the highest potential of accessible biomass resources in Europe for its extensive and comprehensive logistics infrastructure. Our state-of-the-art infrastructure provides access to an extensive network of chemical parks, refineries, and sites offering access by ship, rail and road. Benefit from close relations to partners along the entire value chain: from access to feedstock and transport to distribution.

STABLE INVESTMENT ENVIRONMENT - Social, economic, and political stability provide a solid base for your corporate projects. Our judiciary and civil services are highly professional. Contractual agreements are secure, and intellectual property is strictly protected in Germany.

Related Links

• AGQM - Working Group for Biodiesel Quality Management
• BBE - Bio-Energy Association (in German only)
• BBK - Federal Association of Biogenic & Renewable Fuels
• CHOREN - Gasification Technology Company for Solid Biomass and Oil-Based Residue Feedstock
• CUTEC - Clausthal Institute for Environmental Technologies
• DBFZ - German Biomass Research Centre
• DENA - Renewables Made in Germany | Biofuels
• DFG - German Research Foundation
• Fraunhofer Society
• FVEE - Renewable Energy Research Association (in German only)
• Helmholtz Association
• IEC - Institute for Energy Process Engineering & Chemical Engineering, Freiberg
• IFEU - Institute for Energy & Environmental Research, Heidelberg
• Institute for Applied Ecology, Freiburg
• Leibniz Association
• Max Planck Society
• Research Center Karlsruhe (Part of the Helmholtz Association)
• UFOP - Union for the Promotion of Oil- and Protein-Bearing Plants
• VDB - Association of German Biofuel Industry (in German only)
• Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy