Bio-butanediol Market Expected to Reach $392.9 Million by 2030

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, "Bio-butanediol Market by Source, Application, and End Use: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021–2030,"the global bio-butanediol market was valued at $190.6 million in 2020, and is projected to reach $392.9 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 7.5% from 2021 to 2030.

Bio-butanediol is used in the production of commercially important polymers such as thermoplastic polyurethane, polytetramethylene ether glycol, polybutylene terephthalate, tetrahydrofuran, and n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone.  

Bio-based production refineries are novel, productive models that are focused on the production of bio-based alternatives to fossil-based products. Increase in concerns pertaining to sustainability and adverse environmental impact boosts the demand for bio-based products. Bio-butanediol is expected to replace the fossil-based butanediol completely during the next few years. This is attributed to low cost of bio-butanediol and similar properties when compared to fossil-based butanediol. These factors are predicted to notably contribute toward the growth of the global bio-butanediol market during the forecast period.

Bio-butanediol is expected to face tough competition from its fossil-based counterpart until a commercial production process for the production of bio-butanediol is streamlined. This factor is expected to hamper the growth of the global bio-butanediol market during the forecast period.  

Bio-butanediol exhibits several advantages over fossil-based butanediol such as it reduces greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60% during its lifecycle as compared to fossil-based butanediol. This factor is anticipated to create remunerative opportunities for the expansion of the bio-butanediol market in the future.

The bio-butanediol market is segmented on the basis of source, application, end use, and region.

By source, the market is segregated into sugar and biomass. The sugar segment dominated the global bio-butanediol market in terms of revenue in 2020, with over three-fourth of the total share. Dextrose (a type of sugar) was successfully used for the commercial-scale production of bio-butanediol.

On the basis of application, the bio-butanediol market is classified into polytetramethylene ether glycol, thermoplastic polyurethane, polybutylene terephthalate, tetrahydrofuran, n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, and others.

The polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG) segment dominated the global market in terms of revenue in 2020, with over two-fifths of the total share. This is attributed to the fact that PTMEG is highly used in the production of spandex fibers, copolyester-ether elastomers, and polyurethane elastomers.

Depending on end use, the bio-butanediol market is classified into automotive, packaging, textile, aviation, consumer goods, and others. The automotive segment dominated the global market in terms of revenue in 2020, with over three-eight of the total share. This is attributed to the fact that in the textile industry, bio-butanediol is used in the production of bio-based lycra, which generates low carbon emissions compared to conventional lycra. This is anticipated to create immense opportunities for the bio-butanediol market during the forecast period.   

Region wise, the bio-butanediol market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. The Asia-Pacific bio-butanediol market size is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. This is attributed to increased production of bio-butanediol in Asia-Pacific countries such as China, India, and Japan. Where the production of fossil-based butanediol is governed by Chinese players, production of bio-butanediol is majorly driven by non-Chinese players such as Novamont and BASF SE.

The major companies profiled in this report include Novamount S.p.A, BASF SE, Genomatica Inc., Qira, Yuanli Chemical Group Co. Ltd., Biokemik. It also includes raw materials suppliers such as Shandong Landian Biological Technology Co. Ltd., Roquette Frères, J. Rettenmaier & Söhne GmbH + Co KG,

COVID-19 analysis

The novel coronavirus is an incomparable global pandemic that has spread to over 180 countries and caused huge losses of lives and the economy around the globe. The bio-butanediol market has been negatively impacted due to the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, owing to its dependence on the automotive, textile, and other industrial sectors. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported that due to this epidemic, the global GDP growth would dwindle to 2.4% from 2.9% in 2020 and it has impacted the global supply chain. In addition, more than 100 countries have locked their international borders for transportation and nonessential trade activities, which, in turn, have led to demand–supply disruptions for bio-butanediol market. Furthermore, the temporary shutdown of textiles and automotive industries amid the COVID-19 period has reduced the consumption of bio-butanediols. Several companies have either shut down or shrank their operations due to the risk of infection among the workforce. This has temporarily hampered the demand and supply gap of the bio-butanediol. In addition, the declining income of customers has led to the contraction of the demand for consumer products amid the COVID-19 period. In addition, factors such as financial stress, reduction of demand, and disruptions of the power supply chain have negatively impacted the chemical sector, which, in turn, has decreased the demand for bio-butanediol amid the COVID-19 scenario.

However, several key players such as Novamont, BASF, DuPont, and Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation are constantly engaged in increasing their production and seeking for new investment opportunities amid the COVID-19 situation. For instance, BASF has been producing commercial production of bio-butanediol and has secured rights to produce bio-butanediol up to 75,000 tons per annum. Moreover, in June 2021, Cargill and HELM established a joint venture, Qore, for the production of bio-based products. As a part of the agreement, both companies have invested approximately $300 million to build the commercial-scale production facility of bio-butanediol in the U.S. to provide automotive, packaging, apparel, and electronics industries the ability to improve their environmental footprint and to produce robust product without sacrificing the quality.

Key findings of the study

• The sugar source type is estimated to display the highest growth rate, in terms of revenue, registering a CAGR of 7.6% from 2021 to 2030.
• The polybutylene terephthalate application is anticipated to register the highest CAGR of 8.2% during the forecast period.
• The textile end-use type is estimated to display the highest growth rate, in terms of revenue, registering a CAGR of 8.4% from 2021 to 2030.
• Asia-Pacific garnered the highest share of 45.4% in 2020, in terms of revenue, growing at a CAGR of 8.2%.