McKinsey: By 2010 Industrial Biotechnology Will Account for 10 Percent of Sales within the Chemical Industry

New Data About Growth in Industrial Biotech Sector at World Congress

18-Jul-2006

Jens Riese, a partner at McKinsey & Company, presented up-to-date data and projections for adoption of industrial biotechnology within the biofuels and chemicals industries, in a plenary titled "Industrial Biotechnology -- Turning Potential into Profits," at the third annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing.

McKinsey & Company predicts that by 2010 industrial biotechnology will account for 10 percent of sales within the chemical industry, accounting for $125 billion in value. Riese said that McKinsey & Company has 90 percent confidence in this projected growth, based on the current value of industrial biotechnology. Already as of 2005, industrial biotechnology -- counting products made from biobased feedstocks or through fermentation or enzymatic conversion -- accounts for 7 percent of sales and $77 billion in value within the chemical sector.

Much of the projected growth in adoption of industrial biotechnology is attributable to biofuels -- ethanol and biodiesel -- as production is rapidly increasing to meet demand driven by government mandates. Other areas projected to grow rapidly include pharmaceutical ingredients, polymers, and enzymes. However, Riese stressed, to meet future demand and maintain growth, biofuel production will have to adopt biotechnology processes that make use of broader feedstocks, including cellulose biomass. "To meet demand just from mandated usage, we need to do something different. The key to expanding biofuel production is tapping into new agricultural feedstocks," Riese said.

The World Congress, took place in July 2006 in Toronto and was hosted by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), American Chemical Society, the National Agriculture Biotechnology Council, the Agri-Food Innovation Forum, the Chemical Institute of Canada, BIOTECanada and EuropaBIO.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/56388/mckinsey-by-2010-industrial-biotechnology-will-account-for-10-percent-of-sales-within-the-chemical-industry.html