In 2023, the final energy consumption in the industry sector in the EU was 8 990 petajoules (PJ), down 5.3% compared with 2022 (9 489 PJ). The industry sector has had a long-term decline in energy use, falling almost a third since 1990.
Electricity and natural gas accounted for almost two-thirds of final energy consumption in the EU’s industry sector (32.6% and 31.3%, respectively). Oil and petroleum products accounted for 11.4 %, followed by renewables and biofuels (11.2%). Solid fossil fuels had a 6.0% share in the mix, derived heat 5.3%, whereas non-renewable waste accounted for 2.1%.
Renewables biggest energy source in paper industry
In one of the sub-sectors, the paper, pulp and printing industry, renewables and biofuels are by far the most important fuel group (302.5 PJ or 70.3%) for energy use.
For the first time, renewables and biofuels (246.8 PJ or 33.9%) had the highest energy consumption share in the manufacturing of paper and other paper products (pulp excluded), ahead of electricity (236.9 PJ or 32.6%) and natural gas (147.3 PJ or 20.3%). (....)