When it comes to the bio-based product market, are we climbing the slope of enlightenment or stuck in the trough of disillusionment? It’s now nearly 20 years since polylactic acid entered the market as a promising new commodity plastic, so what’s changed and is the industry developing as quickly as expected? Bio-based products compete in a world dominated by fossil derived chemicals and materials. These fossil derived incumbents have the market advantage of proven technology and mature value chains, only through long-term innovation can bio-based products hope to build a significant market share. However, too often innovation is considered solely in the context of technical development. A far more complicated series of actions is required to transform an inventions or scientific discovery into a product or process which provides value, in other words, something innovative. A key requirement for successful innovation is the legitimacy of the activity. Without legitimacy, policy and funding support is likely to remain poor and market demand will fail to materialise. In this presentation we’ll look at the current bio-based product market and ask if its proponents are doing enough to convince stakeholders of its legitimacy.

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Developing Bio-based
Products
More than just an issue of cost

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Bio-based products – A large and
diverse market
Vanilla to ethanol
Paper to plastic
Polyamides to polyolefins
Amyris to BASF
Coca Cola to Ford 47%
30%
1%
6%
1%
15%
Polymers Oleochemicals
Natural products Naval Stores
Chemical derivatives Fermentation products
Excludes paper and card

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Market penetration
Cheaper
SmarterFriendlier

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Searching for sustainability
Planet
PeopleProfit
Seven out of 10 chemical industry executives believe that
bio-based materials, produced from renewable feedstocks,
will be in common use within the next five years.

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Brand owner perspectives

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Bring on bio

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Beyond the hype
2002
Natureworks begin
PLA production
2006 DuPont/Tate&Lyle
commence
1,3-PDO production
2009 PlantBottle™ launched
2010 Braskem PE plant commissioned
2010 Reverdia JV announced
2013/14 Ind Biotech share prices peak
2015 KiOR files for bankruptcy
2015 Bioamber opens SA plant
2016 Solazyme exits biofuels
2016 Novamont BDO
production commences
2018 Rennovia exit
2018 Bioamber files chapter 11
bankruptcy
2017 Gevo announces
reverse stock split2017 DuPont exits
cellulosic ethanol
2010 Amyris IPO
2009
Lead Market
Recommendations

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Investor confidence

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Market growth revision
3.5% CAGR

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Brand owner issues

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Is bio, clean
techs
illegitimate
child?
Innovation
Knowledge
Generation
Knowledge
exchange
Legitimacy
Creation of
markets
Entrepreneurial
activity
Guidance of
the search
Mobilization of
resources

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What does bio mean?
bio derived
bio renewable
bio process
bio degradable
bio compatible
bio product
bio technology
bio based
bio economy
bio inspired
bio fuel
bio energy

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Market confusion
What the hell
are bioplastics?

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Implications?
Obviously, all petroleum is plant-based—it’s called “fossil
fuel” because it comes from the remains of ancient
organisms such as plants and animals. It has taken millions
of years to go from plants to oil but, technically, all
petroleum is biobased, so we in the industry should not
make a distinction such as, petroleum based = bad; plant-
or biobased = good.

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Marketing spin
when plastic isn’t plastic
………is made of
plants, not plastic.
Using 100% Plant made
Bottles enables companies to
improve their sustainable
practices and step away from
using plastics which are made
with finite resources such as
fossil fuels and reduce their
carbon footprint.

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The academic debate
And, what’s more, plastic made from
plants really isn’t that sustainable.
displace local farmers onto more
marginal and vulnerable land, and
ethanol refineries with highly
exploitative working conditions.

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The toxic ILUC effect

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We need to talk about biodegradables
Bags represent 70% of the EU’s
~100,000tonnes biodegradable products
market
Loss of cohesion between producers, local
authorities and composters
Lack of confidence in science and standards,
and lack of trust in consumers
Poor collection and composting infrastructure

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Secondary to convenience, looks and price
Focus on product benefitsBiobased as additional value
Purchases based on ‘what’s in it for me’
Product specific, communication needs to be context specificPersonal benefits
Natural perceived as positive
Technology perceived as bad
Mixed feelings lead to ambivalence
Positive, negative and mixed
feelings
100% bio-based preferred
Low percentages can be perceived as green washingFull vs partial biobased
Purchase decisions take into account all information of raw
materials, location, production method etc.Coherent product concepts
Consumer purchasing
Sijtsema et al, NJAS, 77 (2016) 61-69

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Resistance to change
“It's only those who do nothing that make
no mistakes, I suppose.”
Joseph Conrad, An Outcast of the Islands

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Commission Expert Group on Bio-based Products
Five years on, the promise and
potential of creating new markets
through stimulation measures for
renewable, EU sourced, bio-based
products, have still not been realised.
After almost a decade of work
examining mechanisms to help ‘level
the playing field’ with a highly
subsidised and well established fossil
carbon industry base, little in the way
of concrete support has actually
materialised.

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Perfect, the enemy of the good

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UK development
2008
Gallagher Review
2008
IBTI Club
2009 Industrial Biotechnology
Innovation and Growth Team
2010 BBSRC confirm IB & Bioenergy as one of
its strategic priorities
2013 Industrial Biotechnology Showcase
2014 Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst
2014 Networks in Industrial Biotechnology & Bioenergy
2015 Govt Building a high
value bioeconomy report
2016 IB Catalyst
mothballed
2018 IFR Biorefinery
Centre closes
2016 BioPilots
UK formed
2011 NIBF expansion
2007 Launch of
NIBF at CPI
2017 Call for new NIBB
2018
Bioeconomy strategy
Bioeconomy sector deal
Industrial strategy challenge fund

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Summary
Despite progress the high hopes for bio-based industry
growth have not been realised
Poor stakeholder communication is resulting in confusion,
inhibiting market formation
Concerns over legitimacy is holding back public finance and
damaging brand owner/consumer confidence
Lack of awareness/use of standards and certification in
addressing sustainability concerns

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However

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European Standard EN 16575:2014
The term bio-based product refers to products wholly or partly derived from
biomass, such as plants, trees or animals (the biomass can have undergone
physical, chemical or biological treatment).
i.e. Bio-based products are products derived from biomass (material of
biological origin excluding material embedded in geological formations
and/or fossilized)

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Standards and certification

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RSB Principles
Legality
Planning,
monitoring and
continuous
improvement
Greenhouse Gas
Emissions
Human and
labour rights
Rural and social
development
Local food
security
Conservation
Soil
Water
Air Quality
Use of
technology,
inputs and
management of
waste
Land rights
The RSB Principles &
Criteria describe how
to produce biomass,
biofuels and
biomaterials in an
environmentally,
socially and
economically
responsible way.

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Peak child and population predictions
Future accessibility to food
is less of a question of
production and nutritional
need, it’s more about
choice of diet and
monetary income
UN and Wittgenstein Centre
www.ourworldindata.org

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Land use depends on what we eat
and what we waste

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Driving change
Continued support for research will result in better processes and
products and production experience will drive down costs
Researchers need to understand the industry and political context of their
research and be able defend its legitimacy
Industry bodies need to drive for a consensus around terms and
communication
Legislation and public investment can drive system change e.g.
compostable packaging needs co-development with composting facilities
and green/food waste collection

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Promoting Bio-innovation in Europe

34. 15 years of Bioeconomy development
NNFCC is a specialist business consultancy,
based in the UK.
We provide strategic, biobased business
consultancy; analysing, explaining and de-
risking the bioeconomy for our clients.
We help industry solve complex business
challenges and provide vital evidence for
policy makers.
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