German pellet output hits quarterly record

Spanish Market: Biomass
23/10/20

German wood pellet production continued to rise in July-September, reaching a record high for any quarter.

Output stood at 792,000t, up by 4.2pc on the quarter and by 7pc on the year, data from industry association DEPV show. January-September production totalled 2.29mn, up by 10.8pc on the year.

Pellet production is typically strong in the third quarter in Germany. Warm and dry weather over the summer leads to more efficient production, as the raw material generally needs less drying, speeding up the process and making it less costly.

And there is currently an excess of feedstock for producers thanks to the bark beetle infestation in Europe. Germany has a high volume of dead wood, put at around 3pc of its standing timber. The damaged timber can be used for pellet production, although several other uses are ruled out.

Germany's production in the quarter was almost exclusively EN plus-certified A1 grade, at 98.4pc, DEPV said. Bagged pellets made up 28.4pc of production, up by 26.8pc on the quarter, probably reflecting the approaching winter and expectations of consumer purchasing.

As Germany's production has risen, prices for premium pellets have fallen. The average EN plus A1 German bulk pellet price in January-September was €239.66/t, 4.4pc lower on the year, DEPV data show. German production stood at 2.07mn t in the first nine months of 2019, 224,000t less than January-September this year.

Softwood made up the majority of feedstock, at 97.4pc, but the surplus of damaged wood has altered Germany's feedstock profile. Of the raw materials used, 86.3pc was sawdust or byproducts from the timber industry — slightly higher on the quarter, by just under one percentage point. The proportion of sawmill residues used for feedstock was 95pc or higher several years ago. Byproducts made up 94.6pc of feedstock in the third quarter of 2018.

By Georgia Gratton

German wood pellet production '000t

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EU may crank up coal and steel research funds in 2027

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EU may crank up coal and steel research funds in 2027

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Indian coal plants raise biomass co-firing in FY2024-25

09/12/25

Indian coal plants raise biomass co-firing in FY2024-25

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Floods disrupt PKS supplies in peninsular Malaysia

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Floods disrupt PKS supplies in peninsular Malaysia

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EU readies new bioenergy strategy

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