Study: Bio-based material companies should move beyond niche applications

28 November 2012

Bio-based material companies should move beyond niche applications to address the same large markets dominated by petro-based material, according to a study by Lux Research.
Bio-based polymers have so far been largely limited to specialized applications, but the top markets for these materials are largely the same ones currently dominated by petro-based material, according to Bridging the Divide between Demands and Bio-Based Materials. Developers should therefore aim for large, addressable markets, among which the biggest are composites and coatings, industrial manufactured intermediates and packaging. To adapt to these markets developers must bring cost parity, offer more bio-based drop-in monomers, and close performance gaps on temperature distortion and brittleness, as well as advance bio-based polymers beyond their reputation as merely disposable, the report says.
Lux Research analysts examined the size of a wide range of potential markets to determine commercial attractiveness of 38 applications and 21 conventional and bio-based polymers. Among their findings was that coatings provide literally thousands of opportunities to substitute bio-based raw materials – in many cases with significant improvements, such as elimination or reduction of volatile organic carbons (Environmental Leader Daily, 27 November 2012).