(CHEManager International 5/2014)     Fuel and Power Consumption     Energy costs represent a significant portion of the production cost of the chemical industry. Thus, rising energy prices impose financial pressure on companies. This is particularly true for Germany, Europe's most powerful industrial state that has embarked on its ambitious, but costly ‘Energiewende' project. In April, after months of wrangling, Germany and the EU settled their differences over whether energy intensive companies in Germany can remain exempt from paying the so-called Renewable Energies Act surcharge (c.f. page 3). Taking a closer look at the energy use of the chemical industry it can be seen that the sector has constantly decreased its fuel and power consumption over the past years (Fig. 1).

Energy and Raw Materials     According to the latest CEFIC Facts and Figures report providing the most up-to-date full-year data available the fuel and power consumption of the EU chemical industry amounted to 55.6 million tons of oil equivalent (TOE) in 2011 - down 17% from 1990. In 2011, the EU chemical sector used a total of 18.9 million TOE of gas. This represents a sharp reduction in gas consumption of 30% compared to 1990. At the same time, oil and electricity consumption decreased by 17 and 11%, respectively compared with 1990 (Fig. 2). Most of the energy and raw materials used by the chemical industry as feedstock is stored in products and can still be recycled.

Energy Efficiency     The cost of energy and raw materials is a major factor in determining the competitiveness of the EU chemical industry on the global market. Thus, the industry has made strenuous efforts to improve energy efficiency by reducing its fuel and power energy consumption per unit of production. However, energy efficiency is subject to decreasing returns as the higher the level of energy efficiency, the more difficult it becomes to make further improvements. From 1990 to 2011, the EU chemical industry succeeded in continuously increasing its output while at the same time keeping its energy input constant. As a result, the energy intensity has been significantly lowered - on average by 3.1% per year (Fig. 3).

Energy Intensity     The chemical industry has succeeded in decoupling resource use from production growth. By 2011, energy intensity in the EU chemical industry was nearly 49% lower than in 1990, whereas it only went down 39% during the same period for the whole of the EU manufacturing sector (Fig. 4). Still, further improving energy efficiency is paramount for the chemical industry. The sector accounts for 12% of total EU energy demand and for one third of EU industrial energy use. There are limits, however, to achieving energy efficiency gains. Fossil fuels as raw material cannot easily be replaced. In many processes, the industry has almost reached the maximum level of energy efficiency potential.



Keywords : CHEManager Europe graphics