Europe Refuse-Derived Fuel Market to Reach USD 7.98 Billion by 2032, Growing at a CAGR of 8.88% During 2026-2032

The Europe Refuse-Derived Fuel Market was valued at USD 4.28 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow from USD 4.79 billion in 2026 to USD 7.98 billion by 2032, expanding at a CAGR of 8.88% during the forecast period. Market growth is underpinned by stringent EU landfill diversion mandates, rising industrial energy costs, and sustained demand from cement co-processing and waste-to-energy applications. According to Eurostat, the EU generated approximately 232.4 million tonnes of municipal solid waste in 2024, with landfilling accounting for 22.5% of treated waste, against a binding target to reduce that share to 10% by 2035.

Moreover, cement manufacturing leads as the dominant application, accounting for approximately 55% of total RDF consumption across Europe, driven by structurally high thermal substitution rates in cement kilns. Holcim's Geocycle business recycled 12.6 million tonnes of materials in 2025, with Holcim's group-wide thermal substitution rate at 39% and targeting 50% by 2030.

Regionally, Germany leads the Europe refuse-derived fuel market with approximately 16% share, supported by a 74% alternative fuel substitution rate in its cement industry, per VDZ, and EEW Energy from Waste processing approximately 5.18 million tonnes of waste across 17 plants in 2025. The market is highly fragmented, with the top 5 players collectively holding only 16% of total market share, reflecting dominance by regional waste processors, national RDF distributors, and energy recovery operators. As EU climate targets tighten and landfill diversion enforcement intensifies, the structural conditions for sustained market expansion across Europe remain firmly in place, as stated in the recent report “Europe Refuse-Derived Fuel Market Analysis, 2026”.

Europe Refuse-Derived Fuel Market Highlights

The Europe Refuse-Derived Fuel Market was valued at USD 4.28 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 7.98 billion by 2032, expanding at a CAGR of 8.88% during 2026-2032.
Cement manufacturing leads as the dominant application at approximately 55% share, driven by high thermal substitution rates in cement kilns across Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands.
Fluff or shredded RDF holds approximately 50% fuel type share, preferred over pelletized formats due to lower production cost and direct compatibility with cement kiln feeding systems.
Germany leads the Europe refuse-derived fuel market with approximately 16% share, supported by a 74% alternative fuel substitution rate in its cement industry and over 5 million tonnes of annual WtE throughput.
The market is highly fragmented, with the top 5 players collectively holding only 16% share, reflecting dominance by regional waste processors and national energy recovery operators across Europe.