Review of North American biofuel production, policies and research

About the project

The production of biofuels has increased dramatically in North America in recent years. The United States (U.S.) is leading this development and has promoted biofuels through a number of policies and mandates through the Renewable Fuels Standard to drive production, research and innovation in the area. Canada has also intensified the promotion of biofuels in recent years through the Renewable Fuels Regulation, in addition to a number of provincial policies and mandates to promote biofuels.

Ethanol is currently the dominant fuel in both countries, with blend rates in petrol most commonly between 5-10 percent.  The promotion and policies for ethanol fuels has helped to drastically increase their production and use in the past 10 years (2004-2014). In comparison to ethanol, biodiesel, for example, is produced in only marginal volumes in North America.

Despite the dramatic increases in the past 10 years, Canada and the U.S. have seen stagnation in conventional biofuel production. This is due in part to a saturation of the market and incentives for current plants, but also due to a large focus on advanced biofuel, for example cellulose-based ethanol.

This project has aimed at providing a brief overview of the development, production, policies and trends promoting biofuels in Canada and the US. Information was collected through literature reviews and interviews with leading researchers in Canada and the US.