Solid Biomass Feedstock Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Solid Biomass Feedstock Market is projected to rise from USD 28.92 Billion in 2025 to USD 40.19 Billion by 2031, expanding at a CAGR of 5.64%. This market encompasses the supply and use of organic non-fossil materials, including wood pellets, wood chips, agricultural residues, and forestry waste, primarily for generating heat and electricity. Key drivers accelerating this market include the worldwide need to decarbonize energy grids and strict government mandates designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the strategic drive for energy security is urging nations to broaden their energy portfolios with dependable, locally sourced renewable assets, establishing a structural demand for biomass that stands apart from temporary market volatility.

However, the sector faces a major obstacle in the form of policy inconsistency and intricate supply chain logistics, which can disrupt the steady availability of raw materials. Regulatory ambiguity regarding sustainability standards often makes long-term investment decisions difficult for producers. As reported by Bioenergy Europe, global wood pellet production remained largely stable at 48.3 million tonnes in 2024. This plateau suggests that while the sector possesses resilience, scaling production to satisfy future needs necessitates overcoming significant regulatory and logistical hurdles.

Market Drivers

The enforcement of strict environmental regulations and carbon emission goals acts as the primary catalyst for the solid biomass feedstock market. Legislative frameworks in major economies are increasingly requiring the phase-out of coal, thereby encouraging utilities to shift toward lower-carbon options such as wood pellets and agricultural residues.

This regulatory pressure effectively guarantees a market for feedstock producers, as power generators are compelled to secure long-term supply agreements to meet decarbonization mandates. For example, the United Kingdom's subsidy programs for bioenergy continue to stimulate significant trade flows; according to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service's 'Global Agricultural Information Network Report' from February 2025, the UK imported 7 million metric tons of U.S. wood pellets in 2024, retaining its top position due to sustained government support for renewable baseload power.

The rising global demand for clean power generation and electricity further speeds up market growth, especially through the development of industrial-scale infrastructure. Unlike intermittent renewable sources, solid biomass provides baseload capacity, leading to utility-scale investments in biomass-firing technologies to ensure grid stability while fulfilling renewable energy quotas.

This shift requires robust supply chains to transport high-density feedstock from resource-rich areas to industrial consumption centers. As noted by the U.S. Energy Information Administration's 'Monthly Densified Biomass Fuel Report' in April 2025, U.S. manufacturers produced 9.16 million metric tons of utility-grade pellets in 2024 specifically to meet this sector's demand. Additionally, to satisfy such industrial needs, trade volumes remain high; per the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, the Netherlands imported 1.50 million metric tons of wood pellets in 2024, highlighting the ongoing reliance on biomass for energy security in key markets.

Market Challenges

Policy inconsistency and complex supply chain logistics constitute a critical barrier hindering the expansion of the Global Solid Biomass Feedstock Market. These structural challenges generate a volatile operating environment where regulatory uncertainty regarding sustainability criteria discourages the long-term capital investment needed for capacity expansion. In contrast to solar or wind energy, biomass relies on a continuous physical supply chain that is highly vulnerable to logistical disruptions and fluctuating raw material availability, making it difficult for producers to guarantee the consistent volumes required for large-scale energy baseloads.

This unpredictability directly hampers market growth by forcing the sector into a trajectory of stagnation relative to other renewable technologies. While global energy demand rises, the friction caused by these non-technical hurdles limits the sector's ability to scale at a competitive pace, keeping it from fulfilling its potential as a primary renewable source. According to the World Bioenergy Association, in 2024, bioenergy power generation reached 711 TWh, representing just 7% of global renewable electricity. This restricted market share illustrates how logistical and regulatory complexities effectively constrain the industry, preventing it from keeping pace with the broader acceleration of the green energy transition.

Market Trends

The widespread adoption of torrefaction and black pellet technology is fundamentally reshaping the market by addressing the logistical and energy density limitations of traditional white pellets. This thermal pre-treatment process converts biomass into a hydrophobic, coal-like material that allows for outdoor storage and direct co-firing in existing coal power plants without expensive infrastructure retrofitting. The technology is rapidly moving from pilot phases to industrial-scale commercialization, particularly in regions prioritizing efficient coal-to-biomass transitions. According to Argus Media, July 2024, in the article 'Idemitsu to start black pellet output in December', Japanese energy firm Idemitsu is planning to start black pellet production of 120,000 tonnes per year in Vietnam in late 2024, with a long-term target of reaching 3 million tonnes annually by 2030.

Simultaneously, the sector is experiencing a significant diversification into agricultural residues and dedicated energy crops to mitigate the supply risks associated with forestry-based feedstocks. Producers are increasingly tapping into non-woody resources such as straw, bagasse, and fast-growing grasses to decouple from volatile timber markets and address sustainability concerns regarding forest harvesting. This strategic shift transforms underutilized agricultural byproducts into critical energy assets, ensuring a more resilient and circular supply chain. According to the World Bioenergy Association, November 2024, in the 'Global Bioenergy Statistics 2024' report, approximately 660 million tons of primary crops were utilized globally for biofuel and energy production in 2023, highlighting the industry's decisive expansion into agrarian raw materials.

Key Players Profiled in the Solid Biomass Feedstock Market

• Enviva
• Drax Group
• RWE
• Georgia Biomass
• Pacific BioEnergy
• Iberdrola
• Fortum
• ArcelorMittal
• Pellet Fuels Institute members
• Biomass Energy Group

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Solid Biomass Feedstock Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Solid Biomass Feedstock Market, by Type:

• Chips
• Pellets
• Briquettes
• Others

Solid Biomass Feedstock Market, by Source:

• Agriculture Waste
• Forest Waste
• Animal Waste
• Municipal Waste

Solid Biomass Feedstock Market, by End-User:

• Residential & Commercial
• Industrial
• Utilities

Solid Biomass Feedstock Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Solid Biomass Feedstock Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

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