A new report shows some pretty strong growth in the biofuels market in the next decade, especially in the biodiesel sector.
This article from Biodiesel Magazine says Boulder, Colorado-based Pike Research sees the biofuels market tripling by the year 2020, growing from $76 billion to $240 billion:
“The study started out as an assessment of technologies in the biofuels industries, but then it grew into a more of a market analysis,” said Robert McDonald, author of the report.
Growth on the supply side was linked to game changing technologies related to biofuels processing. “In the biofuels world, feedstock is king and any technology that provides additional feedstock is a game changer to me,” McDonald told Biodiesel Magazine. “I think the technology developed by Clayton McNeff [of Ever Cat Fuels in Isanti, Minn.] for making biodiesel from trap grease is one of the developments that is very exciting.”
Recycled greases, however, do not have the same potential that algae or jatropha holds for the biodiesel industry over the long term, the Pike Report said. “They’re planting a lot of jatropha right now, but it will take four to five years to mature, so we’re looking at 2013-2014 before it starts to make an impact,” McDonald said.
The article goes on to says that while algae-based biodiesel is still about five years away from being commercially viable, the number of breakthroughs and the amount of investment in the pond scum energy will make it a matter of “when” and not just “if.”