Denatured ethanol imports no longer meet obligations for 2026 in Dutch RED III vote

Imported denatured ethanol blended into gasoline in the Netherlands will no longer be eligible to meet obligations under the Renewable Energy Directive III set to take effect in 2026.

The adopted amendment, upon which the Dutch government voted on Oct. 2, stipulates that Combined Nomenclature code 2207 10 00 or imported undenatured fuel ethanol will be eligible to meet obligations under RED III as of 2026.

Blenders say the move promotes domestically produced ethanol over imported volumes.

The change is also intended to level the playing field with Germany and France, where only undenatured imported ethanol is counted towards the countries' RED II mandates.

Currently, the duty on imported denatured ethanol is Eur102/cu m, significantly lower than the Eur192/cu m for undenatured product.

The move may increase European ethanol prices, which recently approached two-year highs, blenders said.

"This potentially will raise the price by about Eur100/cu m," a blender said, as there may be a shift away from cheaper imports.

Another ethanol trader also said the decision was very bullish for the market.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed T2 ethanol FOB Rotterdam at Eur814/cu m on Oct. 3, having last been higher on Nov. 2, 2023, at Eur841.75/cu m. The latest assessment was 18% higher on the week, having jumped from Eur692.50/cu m on Sept. 26, Platts data shows.

The Netherlands imported 526,000 cu m of undenatured ethanol from the US in January-July, up 72% from the same period in 2024, according to Energy data.