Up to 1.20 euro per litre: why is the price of superethanol soaring at the start of the year?

Romain Rouillard 6:30 p.m., January 19, 2023

The call for a strike at oil refineries aroused the fears of many motorists last week.

Fearing a shortage of fuel in the days to come, many of them rushed to the pump and will no doubt have noticed the significant increase in fuel prices.

The price of a liter of unleaded 95 is flirting dangerously with the 2 euro mark in some stations and bioethanol (or E85) has been no exception to the rule since the beginning of 2023. This fuel has the "power to purchase", made from plant-based alcohol (from beets or corn in most cases), amounts to 1.12 euros on average, although it only very rarely exceeds the limit of 1 euro per litre, and reaches 1.20 euro in places.

End of boosts and unfavorable temperatures 

Its price had also remained stable in 2022 when that of fossil fuels soared everywhere in France, a consequence of the war in Ukraine.

A situation that prompted the government to grant a rebate of 30 cents per liter first and then ten cents later for all fuels, including E85.

A discount to which it was necessary to add that of TotalEnergies of ten centimes per litre.

However, these various boosts ended on December 31 to make way for more targeted devices.

And the prices displayed on service station totems instantly skyrocketed.

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- Faced with rising fuel prices, superethanol is a hit

But this simple explanation is not enough to decipher the phenomenon.

Other parameters must be taken into account, in particular seasonality.

"We are facing a global increase in fuel prices, but in bioethanol, you need a little bit of unleaded. And here, we are in winter so the mixture is richer in gasoline, around 40%", explains at Europe 1 Véronique Girard-Claudon, press officer for the company Flexfuel, which specializes in superethanol.

This fuel does not appreciate winter temperatures and requires a minimum temperature of 13 degrees to ignite.

Hence the importance of increasing the share of gasoline in the mixture when the mercury drops. 

The price of gas has increased by 250% in 2022 

Moreover, the overall manufacturing costs of superethanol have risen sharply in 2022. And the war in Ukraine is obviously not unrelated to this.

In addition to the increase in the price of fertilizers and off-road fuel - necessary for the exploitation of beet and corn fields - we must also consider the spectacular increase in the price of gas.

"The final price of E85 results from an annual contract between ethanol producers and fuel distributors. This contract is established in September 2021, for example, for the whole of 2022. However, in 2022, gas increased by 250%. And therefore, the new contract for 2023 is based on the new gas price", indicates Nicolas Kurtsoglou, engineer at the national union of agricultural alcohol producers (SNPAA).

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- New black year for the French automotive market in 2022

If this system makes it possible to ensure price stability throughout the year, it will also prevent bioethanol from returning to its original price before the start of 2024. Despite everything, this fuel remains quite competitive. , according to Véronique Girard-Claudon.

“We keep a gap of at least 70 cents with other fuels, bioethanol saves 300 euros over 13,000 km. And fossil fuels should also continue to increase so we can imagine that the gap will continue to widen.