Insights Into the European Market for Bio-Based Chemicals
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Insights into the European market for bio-based chemicals Analysis based on 10 key product categories Jurjen Spekreijse Tijs Lammens Claudia Parisi Tévécia Ronzon Martijn Vis 2019 EUR 29581 EN This publication is a Science for Policy report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s science and knowledge service. It aims to provide evidence-based scientific support to the European policymaking process. The scientific output expressed does not imply a policy position of the European Commission. Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use that might be made of this publication. Contact information Name: Claudia Parisi Address: Edificio EXPO, c/ Inca Garcilaso, 3, E-41092 Seville (Spain) Email: [email protected] JRC Science Hub https://ec.europa.eu/jrc JRC112989 EUR 29581 EN Print ISBN 978-92-79-98419-8 ISSN 1018-5593 doi:10.2760/673071 PDF ISBN 978-92-79-98420-4 ISSN 1831-9424 doi:10.2760/549564 Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2019 © European Union, 2019 Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. The reuse policy of European Commission documents is regulated by Decision 2011/833/EU (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39). For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the EU copyright, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders. How to cite this report: Spekreijse, J., Lammens, T., Parisi, C., Ronzon, T., Vis, M., Insights into the European market of bio-based chemicals. Analysis based on ten key product categories, EUR 29581 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2019, ISBN 978-92-79-98420-4, doi:10.2760/549564, JRC112989. All images © European Union 2019, except images on the cover page: 2017. Yemelyanov., M.- © Adobe Stock, 2015. Bits and Splits - © Adobe Stock, 2013. t4nkyong - © Adobe Stock, 2018. ddukang - © Adobe Stock Title Insights into the European market of bio-based chemicals Abstract Bio-based products can bring new functionalities to the market and make the EU economy more sustainable. According to this analysis, based on ten key chemical categories, the EU produces 4.7 Mt/a of bio-based chemicals which represents a bio-based share of about 3.0%, although the market is diverse and large differences can be found between product categories. Under a business-as-usual scenario, the overall bio-based share of the market is not expected to increase rapidly, with an estimated CAGR of 3.6%. Hurdles are still present in the development of the bio-based industry (e.g. production costs), but also big opportunities have been identified and new policy measures could help. Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ 3 Executive summary ............................................................................................... 4 1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 12 1.1 Background of the study ............................................................................. 12 1.2 Objectives ................................................................................................ 12 1.3 Scope and limitations of the study ............................................................... 13 1.4 This report ................................................................................................ 14 2 Methodology ................................................................................................... 15 2.1 Identification and selection of bio-based product categories ............................ 15 2.2 Characterisation of the longlist of bio-based products ..................................... 16 2.3 Selection of 20 bio-based products for value chain description......................... 18 2.4 Selection of 50 representative bio-based products for market description ......... 19 2.5 Methodology for market data collection on 50 bio-based products .................... 23 2.5.1 Market data uncertainty indicator......................................................... 23 2.5.2 Statistical data .................................................................................. 24 2.5.3 Other market data ............................................................................. 27 2.6 Method for market data collection at product category level ............................ 27 2.7 Analysis of data quality and gaps ................................................................. 28 3 Results ........................................................................................................... 29 3.1 Value chain description ............................................................................... 29 3.2 Production and bio-based share ................................................................... 30 3.2.1 Production and bio-based share of 50 bio-based products ....................... 30 3.2.2 Production and bio-based share at product category level ....................... 36 3.3 Price and turnover ..................................................................................... 41 3.3.1 The prices of the 50 bio-based products ............................................... 41 3.3.2 Turnover figures for the 50 bio-based products...................................... 45 3.3.3 Price and turnover data for the 10 bio-based product categories .............. 46 3.4 The EU’s consumption and trade .................................................................. 47 3.4.1 Data on consumption and net trade for 50 bio-based products ................ 47 3.4.2 Consumption and EU import dependence at product category level .......... 53 3.5 Feedstock use, feedstock import dependence and land use ............................. 55 3.5.1 Feedstock use of the 50 bio-based products .......................................... 55 3.5.2 Land requirement of the 50 bio-based products ..................................... 58 3.5.3 Feedstock use, import dependence and land use at product category level 61 3.6 Future market size ..................................................................................... 64 3.7 Private investments ................................................................................... 67 i 3.8 Importance of Member States and the EU ..................................................... 68 3.8.1 Importance of Member States ............................................................. 68 3.8.2 Importance of the EU ......................................................................... 69 3.9 Maturity level ............................................................................................ 71 3.10 SWOT analysis on future development potential ...................................... 72 4 Conclusions and recommendations .................................................................... 81 4.1 Conclusions ............................................................................................... 81 4.2 Recommendations ..................................................................................... 84 List of abbreviations and definitions ....................................................................... 94 List of figures ...................................................................................................... 96 List of tables ....................................................................................................... 97 Annexes ............................................................................................................. 99 ii Acknowledgements This publication is part of the contribution of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) to the European Commission’s Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy. The research was funded by an administrative arrangement between the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) and the JRC. The authors would like to thank the other members of the bioeconomy team at JRC Seville (Robert M’barek, George Philippidis and Patricia Gurría) for reviewing the document and providing useful input; Maria Fernandez Gutierrez and Garbiñe Guiu of DG RTD for their help in defining the scope of the study and their useful feedback; and, finally, Marios Avraamides and Elena Garbarino for the final review of the document. Authors Jurjen Spekreijse Tijs Lammens Claudia Parisi Tévécia Ronzon Martijn Vis 3 Executive summary Background Europe’s economy depends on oil and gas for the chemicals and energy sectors and for all kinds of everyday products. However, fossil resources are scarce and their use harms the environment and our climate. Bio-based products can be substituted for fossil-based materials and bring new functionalities to the market, making the economy more sustainable and reducing its dependence on fossil resources. Industry, supported by governments and large research programmes such as Horizon 2020, has developed an array of innovative bio-based products, which are expected to find their way onto the market in increasing numbers. However, monitoring the development of the bio-based economy is challenging, since no official European databases are dedicated to bio-based products for industrial use, such as bio-based chemical products. Scope and goal This study aims to provide a detailed description of a segment of the EU bio-based products sector, represented by 10 chemical product categories, and its application markets: . platform chemicals . solvents . polymers