Bioethanol for petrol stations

In order to cater to the growing biofuels market for cars, Südzucker Bioethanol GmbH based in Mannheim has established the largest bioethanol production plant in Europe. In February 2006, E85, a fuel consisting of 85 percent bioethanol and 15 percent petrol, was launched on the German market. The fuel, which is marketed as "CropPower85", is offered to users of flexible fuel vehicles as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Increasing oil prices, the continuously growing demand for fuels along with the foreseeable exhaustion of crude oil fields, political instability in petrol producing countries, and concern about the global climate have led all politicians regardless of their orientation to demand the increased use of renewable energies. The EU Commission instituted guidelines for the promotion of road biofuels, in support of the establishment and development of an effective biofuel industry. These guidelines enable EU Member States to exempt duties for automobile biofuels. Germany introduced an exemption to the excise duty on mineral oil for pure and blended biofuels on 1 January 2004. It will be valid until 31 December 2009. This particularly concerns the biodiesel that is made from rapeseed oil and bioethanol produced from sugar- and starch-containing plants.

Südzucker relies on biodiesel

Bioethanol production (Photo: Project Renew Fuel)

As one of the first large German companies, Südzucker AG, which is based in Mannheim/Ochsenfurt relies on the growing use of bioethanol in the automotive sector. In 2003, Südzucker founded Südzucker Bioethanol GmbH and invested 200 million euros into its construction in Zeitz (Saxony-Anhalt). The plant is one of the largest of its kind in Europe and was put into operation commencing in April of 2005. Under the brand name “CropEnergies” and the slogan “creative regeneration of power”, the facility produces 260,000 m³of bioethanol annually as well as 260,000 tons of high-value protein feed (“ProtiGrain”), and yields 30 million kWh of electricity.

Südzucker is a globally active food and feed company with revenue of 4.8 billion € and 17,500 employees. As one of Europe’s leading sugar producers, the company produced more than 5 million tons of sugar from sugar beets in 2004. In Europe, the production of bioethanol from wheat is cheaper than its production from sugar beet. Therefore, the bioethanol production plant in Zeitz uses wheat as the main raw material (700,000 tons/year) with lower amounts of other types of crops and sugar beet.

"The fuel of the future"

Nikolaus August Otto, inventor of the Otto Engine (Photo: German Museum)

The technologies used in the production of ethanol have already been established and the use of ethanol in cars is additionally not new. In contrast, the inventor of the Otto Engine, Nikolaus August Otto, used ethanol as an automotive fuel as early as 1860 when he developed a combustion engine prototype. Fifty years later, Henry Ford designed his legendary Model T on the understanding that ethanol would be the fuel for this “car of the people”. He said: “The fuel of the future is going to come from fruit such as that of sumac out by the road, or from apples, weeds, sawdust – almost anything.“

The pan-European EN228 standard allows the use of up to 5 vol. percent bioethanol or up to 15 vol. percent ETBE (ethyl tertiary butyl ether) as a direct fuel additive. ETBE consists of up to 47 percent ethanol and is produced by mixing ethanol and isobutylene and subsequently reacting them with a catalyst. ETBE is mainly used in France and Sweden where it can be blended with petrol for use as an automotive fuel.

The direct addition of bioethanol to automotive fuel is economically more interesting since this does not require the cost-intensive etherisation step. Unfortunately, a higher ethanol proportion in fuel is currently only possible in flexible fuel vehicles (FFV). In the USA and Brazil, a large number of newly registered cars are FFVs equipped to use fuels containing any ethanol-petrol blend. In Europe, Ford, Saab and Volvo have already started marketing FFV car versions. More than 10,000 FFVs have already been sold in Sweden.

“CropPower85” at German petrol stations

Flexible fuel vehicle (Photo: Saab)

In order for German car drivers to be able to purchase flexible fuel vehicles and use Co2-neutral bioethanol, the appropriate car fuel must be available at petrol stations. Commencing in February 2006, E85, a blend of approximately 85 percent bioethanol and 15 percent regular petrol is currently marketed as “CropPower85” at the OIL! petrol stations in Hennef, Troisdorf and Saarlouis. CropPower85 costs approximately 35 percent less than premium petrol. With an octane number of more than 110, CropPower85 is one of the most powerful fuels that has ever been available at German petrol stations. In addition, the fuel is low in sulphur and aromatic compounds, and thereby it considerably reduces the emissions of the gases that are harmful to the climate and human health.

CropPower85 is produced by the Südzucker facility in Zeitz. With the market introduction of CropPower, Südzucker Bioethanol GmbH and the OIL! petrol stations (with already more than 200 petrol stations in Germany) have led to the foundation of an area-wide petrol station network, selling E85 as an attractive alternative for users of FFV.

Enormous growth potential

The biofuels directive 2003/30/EC put into effect by the EU Commission as part of the guidelines aiming at promoting biofuels intends to increase a meagre 2% market share for biofuels in 2005 to 5.75 in 2010. For Germany, this means an increase in the bioethanol production from 700,000 cubic metres to 1.8 million cubic metres, requiring approximately 5 million tons of crops. A further increase to 25 percent would be possible since, as estimated by Südzucker, the theoretical production potential for bioethanol in Germany accounts for 8 million cubic metres. Surplus crop stocks might cover approximately 66 percent of this amount, crops originating from areas that are being closed might cover 25 percent and surplus sugar stocks might cover the remaining 9 percent.

The production of bioethanol is a very costly process. Therefore, planning reliability is highly important. Dr. Lutz Guderjahn, CEO of Südzucker Bioethanol GmbH, explains that the further development of bioethanol production in Germany mainly depends on how quickly politicians will be able to find a solution to the existing tax exemptions for biofuels, which are set to cease at the end of 2009, and thus will create confidence in further investments in Germany within this sector.


EJ – 23.05.06

For further information, contact:
Südzucker Bioethanol GmbH
Gottlieb-Daimler-Str. 12
68165 Mannheim
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]