Wood pellet production in Germany reached a record 1.18 million tonnes in the first six months of 2018, an increase of 107 000 tonnes or 10 percent compared to the same period in 2017 that reached 1.07 million tonnes according to figures from the German pellet industry association, Deutschen Energieholz- und Pellet-Verbands e.V. (DEPV).
According to DEPV, pellet production in Germany can be clearly described: 97.9 percent of the production corresponds to the quality class ENplus A1, softwood is the main raw material type (96.8 percent) and sawmill by-products (94.7 percent) are the preferred raw material source.
The German pellet industry continues to take the energy transition in the heating market very seriously. Even though the market development of heating systems is stalling, the pellet warehouses continuously ensure an excess of supply security. The raw materials are good, the quality consistently high. We could supply significantly more pellet boilers on a sustainable basis, noted Martin Bentele, Managing Director, DEPV.
Compared to the previous year, more pellets were exported – 12.8 percent thus far compared to 9.4 percent in 2017. The share of bagged goods at 21 percent is at the previous year’s level. For the second half of the year, the industry association continues to expect production of this magnitude, so that the annual production volume of 2.3 million tonnes as forecasted by DEPV in February, will be reached.
The industry is now preparing for the heating season and filling the warehouses. Private customers should also consider doing the same taking advantage of the prices that are still at the low summer level, remarked Bentele.
