Port of Rotterdam sees 6 percent increase of biofuels throughput 2016

According to figures released by the Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest seaport, the throughput of biofuels increased during 2016 to reach 4.8 million tonnes. This represents a 6 percent increase of the total biofuel volumes handled, ie the combined total of volumes discharged and loaded at the port, compared to 2015.

It also makes Rotterdam the largest port in Europe by far for the import, export, trading and pricing of biodiesel and ethanol.

Biodiesel category up 23 percent

The strongest growth in the past year was recorded in the biodiesel category, which includes methyl esters (FAME) and hydrogenated vegetable oils (HVO), the latter also known as renewable diesel. This category increased by 23 percent compared to 2015 to reach 3.5 million tonnes in 2016.

Half of the supply entering Rotterdam comes from Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Another major country of origin is Spain, which accounts for close to 25 percent of the supplied biodiesel. The premier EU destination is Sweden, which received close to 19 percent of the outbound shipments in 2016.

Ethanol down slightly

The port also handled almost 1.1 million tonnes of ethanol, though this figure also includes an unspecified amount of fossil-based ethanol for the chemical industry. In addition, 300 000 tonnes of bio-based ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) was handled in 2016.

The modest decrease in ethanol throughput of ethanol may be a consequence of the continuing development of the intra-European market for ethanol, which has led to a decline in imports from non-European suppliers.

The ethanol that arrived from outside the EU in 2016 mainly originated from Peru and the US (both 12 percent), Venezuela (11 percent) and Guatemala (10 percent) whereas ethanol from within the EU came from the UK (13 percent) and Sweden (10 percent).

The main ethanol export destinations in 2016 were the UK (55 percent) and Sweden (18 percent).