“Global demand for biofuels is set to grow by 41 billion liters over 2021-2026, and the market size is predicted to be around USD 331.89 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 11.9% from 2022-2030.”
Source
It is estimated that the world’s supply of crude oil will run out in roughly 45 years. This begs the question, ‘What does the future hold for industries reliant on oil?’
Consequently, biofuels have emerged as an alternative source of clean energy that is gaining much traction recently as they can be made quickly from the biomass of photosynthetic bacteria, algae, and plants.
It is classified into four generations, each aiming to meet the global energy demand while minimizing environmental impacts.
While it is clear that biofuels are drawing a lot of attention, the industry still needs to address certain challenges such as cost, scalability, and environmental impact of creating them. This has created an open market space for new biofuel companies to enter.
These players are changing the future of fuel. Let’s take a look at some of the leading ones.
Biofuel Companies Pioneering Innovation
1. Manta Biofuel
Manta Biofuel, a US-based startup founded in 2014, can harvest 200,000 gallons of algae daily. They are growing and cost-effectively harvesting algae using their patent-pending technology to produce algae oil as a renewable replacement for crude oil.
The company follows three easy steps to create algae oil. In open ponds, they first grow algae polycultures. Then, magnetic sand is introduced into the pond to connect with algae particles, and using the magnetic harvesting machine, the algae is harvested and converted into oil by exposing it to high temperature and pressure.
Currently, they are selling algae heating oil to homeowners and universities. Moving forward, they have plans to expand into industrial markets such as marine fuel and heavy industry and replace crude oil with carbon-neutral fuel.
Funding
The company has received over $5.2M in funding. This includes over $3 million from the U.S. Department of Energy and the State of Maryland and $2.2M from crowdfunding and private investors like Exelon angel investors.
2. Bloom Biorenewables
A Swiss start-up, Bloom Biorenewables, is turning plant materials like wood, straw, etc., into molecules that can replace fossil fuels. They have a patented technology on the same, invented by Prof. Jeremy Luterbacher, one of the Co-founders of Bloom Biorenewables.
The patent describes a biomass pretreatment process to utilize the full potential of lignin and hemicellulose-derived sugars.
The company has won numerous awards for its innovations, such as the 2022 Swiss Ethics Award in the student’s favorite category and the 2023 SUD (Start-up Durable) prize. Additionally, they have won Startup Champions Seed Night 2022 and hold the 9th position in the 2022 ranking of the top 100 Swiss startups.
Funding
In September of 2022, Bloom Biorenewables received around USD 2.5 million in funding to develop biofuel as an alternative to conventional fossil fuels. Additionally, it received the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator grant of 2’734’975 CHF ($2.4M) from the State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation.
3. Viridos
Founded by leading figures in synthetic biology, J Craig Venter and Nobel Laureate Hamilton Smith, the company has created a biofuel that can steer heavy transportation towards a sustainable path, resulting in a remarkable reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 70%.
This biofuel company has filed two patents on the technology, which works by using special microorganisms that have been modified to produce more lipids than the original microorganisms that were previously used.
Funding
Viridos has received $25 million in a Series A funding round led by Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, joined by United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Chevron Corporation. Furthermore, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-BIZ) has awarded Viridos a CalCompetes Grant, which will aid the company in developing a pilot facility for manufacturing algae-based biofuel in California.
4. Apeiron Bioenergy
Apeiron Bioenergy has a variety of products that are transformed from waste and can replace fossil fuels. Let’s take a closer look at some of them.
- Used Cooking Oil (UCO): It is the leftover fat and oils from the cooking processes, and Apeiron refines it to meet certain standards. This is done to use it as feedstock for biodiesel. Additionally, this product has the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC).
- Refined Palm oil mill effluent (POME): It is also used as a feedstock for renewable diesel.
- Used cooking oil methyl ester (UCOME): an esterified waste cooking oil to make biodiesel.
The company has collaborated with the local community to spread awareness and promote the safe disposal of waste, achieving a supply of 600 million+ liters of UCO since 2017.
Furthermore, the company has also received a first-of-a-kind green loan from the bank HSBC as part of the Enterprise Financing Scheme.
Funding
It raised undisclosed funding from new strategic investor Proterra Investment Partners Asia. Meanwhile, Mitsui Chemicals has also invested in the company.
5. Fulcrum Bioenergy
It is a clean energy company based in California that turns municipal waste into low-carbon transportation fuel. Additionally, with a first-of-its-kind, commercial-scale facility, the company is producing this low-carbon crude oil with plans to refine it into a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a biofuel with a smaller carbon footprint.
The company has patented this promising technology, using gasification and the Fischer-Tropsch process to achieve these results.
Furthermore, the company has partnered with many leading industry players. It is in a long-term agreement with landfill waste suppliers like Waste Connections Inc. and WM (formerly known as Waste Management) and offtake customers in the aviation industry like United Airlines, Japan Airlines, etc. It has entered into licensing agreements with SK Innovation (2022), Marubeni Corporation (2018), and Blue Arrow Biojet Holdings (2017) to introduce waste-to-renewable fuel in countries outside the US, such as South Korea, Mexico, Brazil, etc.
Funding
Fulcrum Bioenergy has received a grant of USD 20.2 million from the UK Department for Transport’s Advanced Fuels Fund. These funds will be put into developing the SAF plant for transforming waste into SAF.
SK Innovation has also invested $20 million in the company to bring the technology to South Korea.
The Government is in on it!
In January this year, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $118 Million to accelerate domestic biofuel production to 17 projects. While the UK awarded £37 million in funding to innovative biomass projects to increase their production.
So, it’s safe to say that creating better and more sustainable biofuels is definitely on the rise.
Conclusion
The biofuel sector is a rapidly growing and evolving industry, with new companies and technologies working to improve it with every step. These innovations are essential to the future of biofuels, as they will help address the industry’s challenges. As the industry grows, we expect to see even more innovations, which will help make biofuels more viable for transportation and other energy needs.
While these biofuel companies lead the charge in this sector, they are just the tip of the iceberg.
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Authored By: Akshita Varshney, Life Sciences.
Edited By: Moksha Jain, Marketing.
