In 2023, the breakdown of final energy consumption in the European Union was 25.1% for electricity, 29.4% for transport, and a substantial 45.5% for heating and industrial use. In other words, almost half of all energy used in Europe goes toward heat production, a sector where the energy transition is progressing much more slowly than in the electricity sector.
According to the report, 74.1% of total heat still comes from fossil fuels, while only 21.1% is renewable. Within that renewable percentage, bioenergy accounts for nearly 80.1%, making it by far the leading renewable solution for decarbonizing heating and industrial thermal processes.
Bioenergy, the backbone of the European renewable energy system
Overall, in 2023, bioenergy accounted for 54.1% of all renewable energy consumed in the European Union, ahead of wind, hydropower, and solar. Without its contribution, the growth of renewables over the last two decades would have been almost half, according to the Bioenergy Europe statistical report.
In the electricity sector, biomass accounts for 6.1% of the total generation mix and nearly 15.1% of all renewable electricity. Most of this production takes place in cogeneration plants, which simultaneously generate electricity and useful heat, with efficiencies far exceeding those of conventional thermal power plants.
In transport, where renewables still play a limited role of barely 8 % of energy consumption, biofuels account for more than 80 % of all renewable energy used, compared to electrification that continues to advance slowly.
Energy dependence: biomass is the exception
The report also focuses on security of supply. The European Union currently imports 98.1 TP3T of the gas and oil it consumes, as well as 76.1 TP3T of its coal. In contrast, only around 5.1 TP3T of the biomass used is imported, making it one of the few largely local energy sources in the European system.
It is worth noting that 1.1% of EU energy imports already contributes around 11.1% of total primary energy demand, a fact that reinforces the strategic role of bioenergy in a context of geopolitical instability and price volatility.
Industry and heating networks, drivers of bioheat
Renewable heat consumption from bioenergy is primarily distributed among the residential sector (47 %), industry (27 %), and district heating networks (18 %). In the latter, biomass has already become the leading energy source, ahead of natural gas and coal, accelerating the decarbonization of urban heating systems.
In industry, its use is particularly notable in energy-intensive sectors such as paper, which accounts for more than 45% of industrial bioheat, and wood, where it exceeds 60%. The agri-food sector, although still smaller, shows sustained growth.
Climate and economic impact
The use of bioenergy prevents the emission of around 300 million tons of CO₂ per year in the European Union, more than half of which is associated with thermal applications. In addition, there is a significant economic impact: the sector generated nearly one million jobs in 2019 and could reach 1.6 million by 2050, with increasing participation from the equipment and technology manufacturing industry.
Its contribution to European GDP was around 40 billion euros in 2019 and is expected to exceed 70 billion by mid-century.
A transition that cannot forget the heat
The main message of the report can be summarized as follows: although electrification is key to decarbonization, Europe will not achieve its climate goals if it does not decisively address the thermal sector, which is responsible for almost half of energy consumption.
In this scenario, bioenergy should not be considered a transitional technology, but rather an already operational energy option, capable of replacing fossil fuels in heating, heat networks and industry, while strengthening security of supply and the local economy.