Argus launches Europe's first AdBlue price reference

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Feb 25, 2022, 09:27 ET

HAMBURG, Germany, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus has launched weekly prices for AdBlue® in the German marketplace. AdBlue is a urea solution required for use as an exhaust additive in the tailpipes of modern diesel vehicles. Last year soaring natural gas prices in Europe led to shortages of AdBlue, threatening to immobilise truck fleets, which cannot operate without it.

AdBlue® is the registered trademark name of Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA) for diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), which reduces harmful NO_x emissions from diesel engines. Its use has been required in most trucks in Europe for over 10 years and in all new diesel cars since 2016. It is made from technical-grade urea, a product which in turn is manufactured using large amounts of natural gas.

Traditionally most AdBlue contracts have been linked to Baltic urea prices, but last year the correlation between the two products weakened because of the surge in European natural gas prices. Responding to this changed market dynamic, Argus has now launched weekly AdBlue prices for both north and south Germany. Germany is Europe's biggest consumer of the product, accounting for more than a fifth of total demand.

Argus Media chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks said: "We are pleased to be able to respond to urgent industry demand and launch these new prices, which reflect the real value of AdBlue. This rapidly growing European market needs its own transparent and accurate pricing mechanisms."

Argus has published DEF prices for the North American market since 2019.

The new AdBlue prices are published in Argus DEF Weekly and in Argus O.M.R. Fuels.

Further resources

White paper: Europe's AdBlue® buyers and sellers could break ties with a legacy pricing mechanism. What would this mean for the future of this maturing market?

Argus contact information

London: Seana Lanigan
+44 20 7780 4200
Email Seana

Houston: Matt Oatway
+1 713 968 0000
Email Matt

Singapore: Tomoko Hashimoto
+65 6496 9960
Email Tomoko

About Argus Media

Argus is an independent media organisation with more than 1,100 staff. It is headquartered in London and has 26 offices in the world's principal commodity trading and production centres. Argus produces price assessments and analysis of international energy and other commodity markets and offers bespoke consulting services and industry-leading conferences.

Companies in 140 countries around the world use Argus data to index physical trade and as benchmarks in financial derivative markets as well as for analysis and planning purposes.

Argus was founded in 1970 and is a privately held UK-registered company. It is owned by employee shareholders, global growth equity firm General Atlantic and Hg, the specialist software and technology services investor.

Trademark notices

ARGUS, the ARGUS logo, ARGUS MEDIA, ARGUS DIRECT, ARGUS OPEN MARKETS, AOM, FMB, DEWITT, JIM JORDAN & ASSOCIATES, JJ&A, FUNDALYTICS, METAL-PAGES, METALPRICES.COM, INTEGER, Argus publication titles and Argus index names are trademarks of Argus Media Limited.

*AdBlue® is a registered trademark of the Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA). VDA offers further information on its website.

SOURCE Argus Media