Liquid biofuels offer an immediate and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, enabling significant progress toward decarbonizing transportation without requiring major technical changes in current vehicles.
San José, 10 December 2024 (IICA) – With a 50% increase in global production over the last decade, liquid biofuels continue to establish themselves as a key tool for the energy transition, reveals a new document published by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
This is the 2023-2024 edition of the Liquid Biofuels Atlas, a comprehensive report produced by IICA, featuring key data from the sector. The report highlights that two countries in the Americas—the United States and Brazil—are the world’s leading producers, accounting for 42% and 24% of total production, respectively. The authors of the study are Agustín Torroba and Anabel Chiara.
Liquid biofuels offer an immediate and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, enabling significant progress toward decarbonizing transportation without requiring major technical changes to current vehicles. They therefore hold enormous potential for addressing the environmental crisis and offer significant opportunities for the Americas due to the continent’s abundant biomass resources.
The new edition of the Atlas focuses on bioethanol, biodiesel, and sustainable aviation fuels, compiling information from bibliographic sources, supplemented with statistical data on raw materials, production trends, and regulatory policies. Variables analyzed include the use of corn, sugarcane, and vegetable oils in production, alongside mandatory blending mandates and low-carbon fuel standards (LCFS) spearheaded by Brazil and the United States.
Between 2013 and 2023, global biofuel production grew by 50% and consumption by 48%, with the United States and Brazil consolidating their positions as top producers.
Brazil, in particular, experienced a 16% production increase in the last year and a 41% rise over the past decade. This trend is expected to continue with the enactment of Brazil’s Future Fuels Law in October 2024.
Bioethanol accounts for 65% of global production, followed by biodiesel at 35%. Additionally, 57 countries have adopted mandates for bioethanol and 45 for biodiesel, with Brazil and India leading the way.
In 2023, global liquid biofuel production and consumption increased by 9% compared to 2022.
Following the United States and Brazil, the top producers include Indonesia, China, and India, with Argentina and Canada as notable contributors from the Americas. The United States and Brazil are also the largest consumers of biofuel. The report also emphasizes the continued role of blending mandates in driving global biofuel production and consumption.
IICA leads and serves as the Technical Secretariat for the Pan-American Liquid Biofuels Coalition (CPBIO), created in 2023. This coalition brings together major business and industry associations from the Americas dedicated to producing and processing agricultural commodities like sugar, alcohol, corn, sorghum, soybeans, vegetable oil, and grains. Its mission is to promote the sustainable production and use of these clean energies to decarbonize the economy across the hemisphere.
Raw Materials
“Liquid biofuels are solidifying their role as part of a cleaner transition within a mobility paradigm based on internal combustion”, said Agustín Torroba, IICA’s Biofuels Specialist and Executive Secretary of CPBIO.
“While other sustainable mobility paradigms, like electromobility and hydrogen propulsion, are under development, biofuels have the advantage of being immediately usable with existing vehicles, meaning they do not require making significant technical changes, and are more environmentally sustainable than fossil fuels”, he added.
In 2023, corn and sugarcane were the primary raw materials for bioethanol production, accounting for 62% and 27% of global output, respectively. Corn is widely used in the United States, China, Canada, Argentina, and several EU countries, while its use is expanding significantly in Brazil. Sugarcane production is prominent in Brazil, Colombia, India, Paraguay, and Argentina.
Biodiesel, derived mainly through the transesterification of palm oil, soybean oil, and rapeseed oil, has grown at a higher rate than bioethanol over the past 20 years, albeit from a smaller base.
In 2023, the most-used feedstocks for biodiesel were palm oil (26%), soybean oil (23%), and canola or rapeseed oil (11%). Used oils and animal fats also constituted a third of the primary raw materials.
Additionally, hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) biodiesel, which has increased production by 538% over the past decade, now accounts for 25% of total biodiesel output.
IICA’s report also highlights the emergence of liquid biofuels for maritime and aviation use, though still in its early stages. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), first consumed regularly in 2007, saw a 100% production increase in 2023 compared to 2022. Projections for 2024 estimate SAF consumption to reach 1.875 million m³, marking a 7,400% increase over the past five years. Furthermore, several countries have begun implementing public policies to encourage SAF adoption.
The Liquid Biofuels Atlas 2023-2024 is available at: https://repositorio.iica.int/handle/11324/23050.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
