The European Union’s industry sector consumed 8,835 petajoules (PJ) of energy in 2024, marking an 8.1 per cent decline compared with 2014, according to newly released data from Eurostat.
The figures also showed that final energy consumption in industry has been steadily decreasing since 1990, reflecting a long-term trend towards lower energy use across the bloc’s industrial sector.
The largest share of energy consumed by industry in 2024 came from electricity, which accounted for 2,945 PJ, representing 33.3 per cent of total consumption.
This was followed closely by natural gas, which provided 2,817 PJ, equivalent to 31.9 per cent of industrial energy use.
Renewables and biofuels ranked third among energy sources, supplying 999 PJ or 11.3 per cent of total consumption.
Notably, renewables and biofuels surpassed oil and petroleum products, which accounted for 922 PJ and 10.4 per cent of the energy used by industry.
The remaining energy consumed by the sector came from solid fossil fuels, which provided 484 PJ or 5.5 per cent of the total.
Another 483 PJ, also representing 5.5 per cent, came from heat.
Meanwhile, non-renewable waste contributed 186 PJ, equivalent to 2.1 per cent of total industrial energy consumption.
Compared with 2014, consumption declined across most energy categories used by industry.
The sharpest proportional decrease was recorded in the use of solid fossil fuels, which fell by 34.8 per cent over the ten-year period.
The use of heat also dropped significantly, declining by 23.7 per cent compared with 2014 levels.
In contrast, only two energy categories recorded increases during the period.
The use of non-renewable waste rose by 32.1 per cent, while consumption of renewables and biofuels increased by 24.3 per cent.
The data also highlighted a contrasting trend in the food, beverages and tobacco industry, where energy consumption increased despite the broader decline seen across industry as a whole.
In 2024, the sector consumed 1,134 PJ of energy, accounting for 12.8 per cent of total industrial energy consumption.
This represented a 4.7 per cent increase compared with 2014, making it one of the few industrial activities to register higher energy use over the period.
Within the sector, natural gas was the dominant energy source, supplying 525 PJ and accounting for 46.3 per cent of total consumption.
Electricity followed with 401 PJ, representing 35.3 per cent of the energy used by the sector.
The remainder of energy demand was met by renewables and biofuels, which contributed 68 PJ or 6.0 per cent.
Oil and petroleum products supplied 60 PJ, accounting for 5.3 per cent of the sector’s energy use.
Heat contributed 47 PJ, equivalent to 4.2 per cent.
Solid fossil fuels accounted for 32 PJ, representing 2.8 per cent of consumption.
A further 1 PJ, or 0.1 per cent, came from non-renewable waste.
The strongest growth within the food, beverages and tobacco sector was recorded in the use of renewables and biofuels, which increased by 68.4 per cent compared with 2014.
Consumption of non-renewable waste also rose sharply, increasing by 47.4 per cent over the same period.
At the same time, electricity consumption in the sector increased by 8.1 per cent.
The use of natural gas also rose, registering growth of 5.0 per cent.
By contrast, the consumption of solid fossil fuels declined by 36.4 per cent, continuing the broader shift away from more carbon-intensive energy sources.
