Fuel Production

The Fuel Production segment is expected to grow to $107.2 billion globally in 2012, a 22% increase.

Fuel Production is comprised of six subsegments: Ethanol and Butanol, Biodiesel, Synthetic Diesel and Gasoline, Bio-oil, Biogas, and Hydrogen. In 2011, Fuel Production saw global revenue of $87.6 billion, making it the fourth largest technology segment by market size and accounting for 8% of the overall advanced energy market worldwide. The Fuel Production segment is expected to grow to $107.2 billion in 2012, a 22% increase.

With revenue of $68.1 billion, sales of ethanol fuel and ethanol biorefinery capital investments were the primary revenue drivers, followed by biodiesel fuel sales and biodiesel biorefinery capital investments at $17.9 billion. Revenue from sales of synthetic diesel and gasoline, bio-oil, biogas, hydrogen fuel, and associated refinery capital investments amounted to more than $1.6 billion, representing 2% of revenue within the Fuel Production segment.

In recent years, the United States, Brazil, and the European Union have been the three largest markets worldwide (both as producers and consumers) and have typically accounted for 80% to 90% of global production. In 2012, an increase in demand and production capacity in these markets is expected to increase global ethanol and biodiesel sales by 18% and 12%, respectively. In 2011, the United States accounted for 49% of the total Fuel Production segment, with revenue of $42.7 billion. With combined sales of ethanol and biodiesel expected to increase by just 2% in 2012 to an estimated 14.9 billion gallons, the U.S. overall share of the global Fuel Production market is expected to drop in 2012. Nevertheless, the overall U.S. Fuel Production market is expected to grow to $46.8 billion, a 10% increase over 2011. Current government targets for biofuel demand in the United States are 15.2 billion gallons for 2012, and 26 billion gallons by 2018.

The Fuel Production segment in the United States had an overall economic impact on 2011 U.S. GDP of $43 billion, derived from the domestic content associated with U.S. Fuel Production revenue. This economic activity generated $3.8 billion in federal tax revenue and an additional $1.9 billion in state and local tax revenue. This economic impact does not include the additional economic benefits of exports from the United States to global markets.