Energy use in the EU’s industry sector fell to 8,835 petajoules in 2024, down 8.1% compared with 2014.
A petajoule is a unit used to measure large amounts of energy, and the figures cover “final energy consumption” — the energy actually used by factories and industrial sites, rather than energy lost in conversion or transport, Eurostat said in a release on Friday.
Electricity accounted for the largest share of industry energy use in 2024 at 2,945 petajoules (33.3%), followed by natural gas at 2,817 petajoules (31.9%).
Renewables and biofuels were the third-largest source at 999 petajoules (11.3%), ahead of oil and petroleum products at 922 petajoules (10.4%).
The remaining energy used by industry came from solid fossil fuels (484 petajoules; 5.5%), heat (483 petajoules; 5.5%) and non-renewable waste (186 petajoules; 2.1%).
Food, beverages and tobacco buck the overall trend
Energy consumption in the EU’s food, beverages and tobacco industry rose to 1,134 petajoules in 2024, representing 12.8% of total industrial energy use, and up 4.7% compared with 2014, Eurostat said.
Natural gas made up nearly half of energy used in the sector at 525 petajoules (46.3%), with electricity at 401 petajoules (35.3%).
Use of renewables and biofuels in the sector increased by 68.4% compared with 2014 and non-renewable waste rose 47.4%, while solid fossil fuels fell 36.4%.
