Renewable Chemicals Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 To 2025

Growing consumer awareness towards renewable chemicals along with increasing environmental concerns has been the major factors for renewable chemicals market growth. Stringent environment regulations related to manufacture and disposal of petrochemicals by regulatory bodies such as EPA, REACH, and European Commission have also fueled renewable chemical demand over the past few years. Volatile crude oil prices coupled with high prices of finished petrochemicals are estimated to augment market growth over the forecast period. Increasing preference for renewable resources on a commercial and industrial level for manufacturing finished products such as pharmaceuticals, medicines, food additives, and plastics is also expected to supplement renewable chemicals demand. Major chemical manufacturers are shifting focus towards utilizing natural sources for manufacturing various chemicals in order to reduce dependence on fossil fuel resources. Strict regulations have been imposed on use and disposal of petrochemicals by various regional as well as national governments to reduce hazardous impacts on humans and environment. High processing cost and complex manufacturing processes may hinder renewable chemicals market growth in long run. Some renewable alternatives to existing petrochemicals have been priced extremely high as compared to their synthetic counterparts. Lower purchasing power along with lack of consumer awareness for these chemicals particularly in emerging economies of Asia Pacific and Africa may also hamper renewable chemicals penetration in these regions over the next few years.

Renewable chemicals may be used as a drop-in substitute for existing petrochemicals in most of the predominant end-use industries including automotive & transportation, textile, pharmaceutical, consumer & home appliances, healthcare, and food & beverages. Renewable chemicals are commercially available as ketones, alcohols (methanol and ethanol), organic acids, and biopolymers. Alcohols hold the largest share in global renewable chemicals market and are expected to witness high growth rates on account of abundant availability and increasing application scope in several industries. On the basis of raw materials, renewable chemicals market has been segmented into agricultural wastes, vegetable oils, biomass and microorganisms.

Europe was the largest renewable chemicals market in 2013 on account of increasing European Union investment to establish ‘Green Economy’ coupled with stringent REACH and European Commission regulations towards petrochemicals. European Commission’s ’20-20-20’ initiative is further estimated to promote renewable chemicals penetration in the region over the next few years. Abundant raw material availability, particularly in economies North and Latin America such as U.S., Brazil, and Argentina, is expected to strengthen the supply side for local manufacturers within the region. Asia Pacific is one of the most lucrative markets owing to rising chemical demand along with increasing environmental concerns. Advancements in extraction techniques along with increasing availability of vegetable sources for chemical manufacturing are estimated to have immense opportunities for market expansion over the next few years. Future renewable chemicals demand is expected to come from economies including China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Japan, and European Union.

Strategic alliances and development of new technologies and products are expected to provide opportunities for key market players. Major companies operating in global renewable chemicals market comprise BASF SE, BioAmber Inc., Cargill, Natureworks LLC, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Verenium Corporation, Beta Renewables SpA, Braskem, Chevron Corporation, Cobalt Technologies and Amyris Inc.