Commodities
EU Energy Use in Industry Sector Continues to Decline, Eurostat Says
The EU's industrial sector cut energy use over the past decade, even as its fuel mix continued shifting away from coal and toward electricity and renewables, according to a statement released Friday by the EU's official statistics agency, Eurostat.In 2024, the EU industry consumed 8,835 petajoules of energy, down 8.1% from 2014. The long-term trend has been downward since 1990, reflecting efficiency gains and structural changes in industrial output.Electricity remained the largest energy source at 2,945 PJ, or 33.3% of total industrial consumption, followed closely by natural gas at 2,817 PJ at 31.9%.Renewables and biofuels ranked third at 999 PJ, or 11.3%, overtaking oil and petroleum products, which accounted for 922 PJ, or 10.4%. Other sources included solid fossil fuels at 484 PJ at 5.5%, heat at 483 PJ at 5.5%, and non-renewable waste at 186 PJ, or 2.1%.Compared with 2014, consumption fell across most energy categories. The sharpest declines were recorded in solid fossil fuels, down 34.8%, and heat, down 23.7%. Two categories moved in the opposite direction: non-renewable waste rose 32.1%, and renewables and biofuels increased 24.3%.The food, beverages and tobacco sector diverged from the broader industrial trend, increasing its energy use. It consumed 1,134 PJ in 2024, equal to 12.8% of total industrial energy use, up 4.7% from 2014.That sector relied heavily on natural gas, which made up 525 PJ, or 46.3%, and electricity at 401 PJ, or 35.3%. Smaller shares came from renewables and biofuels at 68 PJ, oil products at 60 PJ, heat 47 PJ, solid fossil fuels 32 PJ, and non-renewable waste 1 PJ.Within food manufacturing, the strongest growth came from renewables and biofuels, up 68.4%, and non-renewable waste, up 47.4%. Electricity use rose 8.1% and natural gas 5.0%. Solid fossil fuel consumption dropped 36.4% over the same period.