Pannonia Ethanol commissioned HETFA Research Institute to prepare a study focusing on the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction effects and costs of using ethanol in the transport sector. According to our conclusion, increasing the ratio of ethanol added to gasoline can be an efficient instrument for GHG reduction, since it has lower costs compared to other alternatives (close to 0) and numerous social benefits.
During the estimation of emissions and costs associated with the entire ethanol life-cycle, we applied the RED methodology, which was originally established to measure the objectives set in the 2009/30/EC Renewable Energy Directive of the EU. The main goal of the study was the calculation of the costs of reduction per unit of CO2 equivalent emission. We took into account several factors that influence these costs, such as the price of the feedstock, indirect land use change effects and the engine efficiency improvement stemming from ethanol use. Besides, we provided a forecast using econometric methods with respect to the carbon emissions in 2015 in various scenarios associated with different ethanol blend rates.
The summary of the study on the homepage of Pannonia Ethanol and the link for the study are available here.