Global Biofuel Trends Multiply in Numbers, Finds Market Study from Emerging Markets Online

HOUSTON--Emerging Markets Online, an energy intelligence agency and management consulting firm, recently released a comprehensive 405 page study titled Biodiesel 2020: A Global Market Survey.

Biodiesel 2020 reviews biofuels initiatives world-wide, including Bush’s new “20% biofuels by 2017” re-vision of the U.S. Renewable Fuels Standard; the European Union’s proposed “20 by 20” program to replace 20% of transportation fuels with renewable fuels; and national biofuels target goals and programs for Brazil, China, India, the U.S. and Europe. These initiatives, accompanied by strong biofuels market growth world-wide provide an excellent case for long-term development in the biofuels sector.

"The global market for biodiesel is poised for explosive growth in the next ten years. Although Europe currently represents 90% of global biodiesel consumption and production, the U.S. is now ramping up production at a faster rate than Europe, and Brazil is expected to surpass U.S. and Europe by the year 2015," says William Thurmond, Author of Biodiesel 2020 and Director of Management Consulting at Emerging Markets Online.

Biodiesel is a natural fit in Europe, Asia and Brazil where diesel fuel is more common than in the U.S. "It is possible that Biodiesel could represent as much as 20% of all on-road diesel used in Brazil, Europe, China and India by the year 2020. If governments continue to aggressively pursue targets; enact investor-friendly tax incentives for production and blending; and help to promote research & development in new biodiesel feed stocks such as algae biodiesel, the prospects for biodiesel will be realized faster than anticipated. Biodiesel 2020 finds that each of these variables will be essential to the eventual success of these targets," author William Thurmond notes.

Currently, the U.S. is the fastest growing biodiesel market in the world. Demand for biodiesel in the U.S. has grown so fast in 2006 that the seventy major biodiesel plants are barely able to keep up. To meet this demand, over fifty new, larger-scale plants are in construction. The retail market for biodiesel in the U.S. grew more than three fold from 300 retail sites in 2005 to over 950 sites in 2006. The U.S. market has a significant amount of room to grow to reach the status of its European counterparts. In Europe, biodiesel represents 2% of total on-road fuel consumption and is expected to reach 6% by 2010. The total biodiesel being sold in the U.S. amounts to less than 1/2 of 1% of all petro-diesel on-road.

In China, India, Brazil and Europe biodiesel is becoming increasingly important as governments enact new alternative fuels policies and targets to offset energy security and environmental concerns. The survey finds that by the year 2020, Brazil is expected to produce the largest volume of biodiesel in the world; and if China meets its targets, it will eventually become the largest consumer of biodiesel in the world, surpassing Europe and the U.S. by 2020.