Biomass and Waste-to-Energy - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics

Global Biomass and Waste-to-Energy Market to Reach $39.9 Billion by 2027

The global market for Biomass and Waste-to-Energy is projected to reach US$ 39.9 billion by the year 2027, trailing a post COVID-19 CAGR of 5.2% over the analysis period 2020 through 2027. The Covid-19 pandemic brought economic activity across the world to a screeching halt. Even though economies are limping back to normalcy, the pandemic has underlined the need for sustainable development. Global energy consumption is estimated to decrease by anywhere between 5% to 1% and carbon emissions by are estimated to decline at a similar rate in 2020, a first in many years. Even if these unexpected benefits to the environment can be maintained in future, that would be a huge fillip to prevent environmental degradation. Governments and organizations across the world are using the opportunity provided by the pandemic to improve sustainability measures. Governments are using various means such as recovery measures to maintain the sustainability momentum. Governments are tying investment support with sustainability measures such as investments in alternative energy infrastructure including energy storage, carbon capture, and improving the energy efficiency of buildings through retrofitting with green building materials. The present economic scenario does not warrant additional investments in energy infrastructure owing to the low demand. However, governments and businesses should take advantage of the attractive pricing at the moment to initiate infrastructure buildup for alternative energy as part of long-term strategy to decrease dependence on fossil fuels.

To achieve net zero emissions, renewable energy would have to account for about three-fourths of energy supply, and investments in alternative energy would aid countries and companies to achieve this goal at a faster rate. The present remote working trend has brought the focus back on improving high-speed internet infrastructure. Biomass energy is rapidly emerging as a sustainable option over fossil fuels for energy and heat generation across countries. In 2019, biomass energy generation capacity globally increased by 8.5GW, indicating strong focus of government on bioenergy. With an impressive 60% share of new biomass energy capacity, China remained at the forefront of bioenergy. Majority of the new capacity in the country came from waste-to-energy projects. Japan represents the second-leading market, holding one-tenth of the capacity of China. The biomass energy remained concentrated regionally, with ten countries claiming 90% share of the new capacity in 2019. However, bioenergy capacity additions are expected to decline 12% in 2020 owing to the COVID-19 crisis that has severely affected China, the UK, Japan and Brazil. The outbreak has resulted in delays for various projects. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry witnessed few disruptions related to supply of biomass fuels including wood pellets and chips. The slow growth is partly credited to transition from existing policy support through certificate schemes and feed-in-tariffs toward competitive auctions in major bioenergy markets like the UK, Germany and Japan.

Bioenergy is anticipated to also find increasing acceptance for renewable heating, accounting for 90% of renewable heat usage in 2019, which includes indirect consumption through district heat networks. The approach is highly popular across industries engaged in producing biomass waste or residues. Moreover, biomass energy is the main option for renewable heat across buildings through wood & pellet boilers and stoves. The use of bioenergy for heat is predicted to grow 10% through 2025, with China and India claiming over half of the anticipated growth. While India and Africa are expected to make a notable contribution, new installations of pellet and wood boilers and stoves in the EU are predicted to claim one-fourth of the overall share. China is among the fastest growing markets in this sector. France, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, and Japan are among the few countries with high incineration capacities per head. These countries have been traditional centers of waste incineration technology, and continue to hold prominence in the present scenario. In countries such as Monaco, Sweden and Japan, waste incineration capacities are significantly higher than the total municipal waste. In countries such as Japan, waste incineration has been a widely used process even prior to the realization about the technology's eco-friendly characteristic. Majority of the Asian nations make use of thermal waste-to-energy (WTE) technology that utilizes heat to transform waste into heat energy or electricity. Thermal incineration differs from traditional incineration, wherein burnt waste may not necessarily result in the energy generation. However, concerns about waste-to-energy, particularly air pollution and opposition to new facilities from communities have resulted in restrictions being placed on the establishment of new facilities. In China, about 50-55% of the total MSW is sent for treatment, of which more than three-fourth share is diverted into landfills. However, the country's vast population base has brought forth the significance of appropriate government policies pertaining to MSW treatment. Subsequently, the government of China offered subsidies as well as corporate tax exemptions in order to boost the waste-to-energy technology.

Select Competitors (Total 58 Featured):

• Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc
• China Everbright International Limited
• Covanta Holding Corporation
• Hitachi Zosen Corporation
• KEPPEL SEGHERS Pte., Ltd
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd
• Ramboll Group A/S
• Suez
• The Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, PJSC
• Veolia Environnement S.A
• Waste Management, Inc
• Wheelabrator Technologies Inc
• Xcel Energy Inc