The world is changing rapidly. How we create and use energy products, fuels and nutrients are being impacted by global crises and climate change. Ethanol is one of the most widely used fuels in the modern world, and ethanol suppliers are in high demand across various areas of science and technology.

So how is this super fuel being used in 2022? Ethanol is already a core chemical component of over 90 percent of the gasoline used in the United States. It also has extensive usefulness in the world of medicine and pharmacology. Let’s take a quick journey around the world and discover just how important this fuel is.

Financially speaking, ethanol is having a great year. Things will only get better too, as a variety of factors such as increasing consumption of alcoholic beverages, strict regulations designed to curb greenhouse gas emissions and the eco-friendly benefits of renewable ethanol are set to drive profit margins up in the next few years.

It is clear that across the world there is an increasing demand for ethanol production and consumption. In India, it was recently announced that ethanol is expected to make up 9.3 percent of the country’s gasoline supply in 2022, up a full 15 percent from last year. A big reason for this is the growing number of ethanol plants in India. 252 are expected this year, up from 220 in 2020.

This trend can also be seen in the European Union. In 2022 the area has seen record levels of ethanol consumption, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine consistently being cited as a big reason for increased supply and demand.

Germany is expected to be the biggest consumer of ethanol this year at 1.456 billion liters. Along with France, projected to use 1.225 billion liters in 2022, they are the ethanol giants of Europe. The next highest consumers use half or even less, with the Netherlands due to consume 500 million liters of ethanol this year.

These stats are not surprising considering how important ethanol is fast becoming. Representatives of ePURE, the body which represents the European renewable ethanol industry, recently stated that its members produced more animal feed in 2021 than ethanol itself. The importance of these plants to the future stability of Europe is no doubt being discussed at the highest levels.

Meanwhile in Brazil, the two most populous states of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais have recently cut local taxes on ethanol following a similar cut on gasoline. Designed to make ethanol more competitive at the pump, the growing demand could soon lead Brazilian mills to produce more ethanol, which could reduce sugar production.

It is indeed a big year for both ethanol consumption and production. With trends across the entire world pointing to an even bigger demand for this biofuel in the future, we can say with certainty that it will play a vital role in how we navigate the rest of the 21st century.