Biomass is synthesized by the process of photosynthesis that converts atmospheric carbon dioxide to sugar. A biorefinery is an essential upstream, midstream, and downstream processing of biomass into a variety of products. The market for biomass conversion and biorefinery has witnessed significant growth due to rising demand from various applications such as biofuels and energy from feedstock. The major factors driving the growth of market include growing awareness of environmental issues associated with fossil fuel consumption and increasing energy demand, globally.

Market Dynamics

The increase in demand for production and use of a spectrum of bio-based products and bioenergy that provides significant contribution to sustainable development, generating added value to sustainable biomass use and producing a range of bio-based products across end-use industries have led to the growth of biomass conversion and biorefinery market globally. However, growing opportunities across Asia-Pacific market; as well as growing food & beverage and agriculture industry are the major opportunity areas for the market players. The major challenges posing threat to the market growth include degree of complexity with the use of multiple feedstock as per the application need, limited availability of biomass, and technological and economic risks.

Market Classification and Overview

The biomass conversion and biorefinery market is bifurcated on the basis of type, technology, application, end use industry, and geography. The different types of biomass conversion and biorefinery include lignocellulose refining, whole grain refining and green refining among others. Lignocellulose refining is the largest and most mature markets as it caters to almost every type of application. Green refining is the fastest growing market owing to its ability to produce zero-waste and zero-emission extraction of valuable feedstock into biomass. Based on technology, the market is segmented into conventional biorefinery and advanced biorefinery among others. The conventional biorefinery is the largest and mature form of technology used in the industry, whereas the advanced refining technology has niche application use as it is still in the R&D phase. Based on application, the market is segmented into biofuels, energy from feedstock, and non-food energy crops among others. Biofuels is the largest application segment due to the growing need for diesel and petrol substitutes from the transportation industry. Non-food energy crops is the fastest growing application owing to the increasing demand of better alternatives to corn and soybeans as biofuels feedstocks and as bio-intermediate oil that can be blended with petroleum. Based on end use industry, the market is further segmented into transportation, food & beverage, agriculture, industrial, pharmaceuticals and others. Transportation accounts for majority of the global consumption of biofuels produced by biomass conversion and biorefinery and led the global biomass conversion and biorefinery market followed by food & beverage and agriculture segments. Food & beverage is the fastest growing market owing to the increase in demand for conversion of organic waste such as wastewater and solid wastes generated by food processing industries into bulk chemicals and clean energy.

Regional Overview

The market for biomass conversion and biorefinery is segmented into regions such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle-East and Africa (MEA). North America was the major contributor to the global biomass conversion and biorefinery market in 2015. Europe was the second biggest market followed by Asia-Pacific. The market for biomass conversion and biorefinery in Asia-Pacific is further projected to witness highest growth in coming years owing to the growing adoption of renewable source of fuel production and fast growth of automotive and agriculture industries in the region. The North American market for biomass conversion and biorefinery is likely to grow at a significant rate as it has developed industrial processing and is known to be the largest producer of biomass conversion and biorefinery globally.

Report Coverage

Market Participants

Svensk Etanolkemi AB (SEKAB), Abengoa Bioenergy Corporation LLC (American Process Inc.), Pacific Ethanol, Neste Corporation, Honeywell UOP, Valero Energy Corp, American Process Inc., UPM Biofuels, and Renewable Energy Group, Inc. are some of the key players operating in the global biomass conversion and biorefinery market.

Market Segmentation

Market By Type

·         Lignocellulose Refining

·         Whole Grain Refining

·         Green Refining

·         Others

Market By Technology

·         Conventional Biorefinery

·         Advanced Biorefinery

·         Others

Market By Application

·         Biofuels

·         Energy from Feedstock

·         Non-food Energy Crops

·         Others

Market By End-Use Industry

·         Transportation

·         Food & Beverage

·         Agriculture

·         Industrial

·         Pharmaceuticals

·         Others

Market By Geography

·         North America

o   US

o   Canada

o   Mexico

·         Europe

o   UK

o   Germany

o   France

o   Rest of Europe

·         Asia-Pacific

o   China

o   Japan

o   India

o   Australia

o   Rest of Asia-Pacific

·         Latin America

o   Brazil

o   Rest of Latin America

·         Middle East and Africa (MEA)

o   South Africa

o   Saudi Arabia

o   Rest of MEA