The Future of Biofuels in an Electrifying Global Transportation Sector: Imperative, Prospects and Challenges

Debnath, Deepayan; Khanna, Madhu; Rajagopal, Deepak; Zilberman, David

doi:10.1093/aepp/ppz023

Title: The Future of Biofuels in an Electrifying Global Transportation Sector: Imperative, Prospects and Challenges

Journal Article · 03 December 2019 · Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/aepp/ppz023 · OSTI ID:1577368

Debnath, Deepayan ^[1]; Khanna, Madhu ^[2]; Rajagopal, Deepak ^[3]; Zilberman, David ^[4]

Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States). DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation; CABBI
Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States). DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation
Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

Low carbon alternatives are an imperative for decarbonizing the transportation sector. There is growing interest in electrification of transportation but even with aggressive growth in sales, a significant share of transportation is expected to rely on liquid fuel by midcentury. Biofuels are appealing as low carbon fuels but those produced from food crops generate a food vs. fuel dilemma. We discuss the prospects for expanding biofuels, while mitigating the competition with food production though a transition to second generation biofuels from biomass as well as the potential for biotechnology to transform the agricultural sector globally to increase crop productivity and make biofuels and food production complementary. We highlight the role for policy, technological innovations, and institutions to achieve increased food and biofuel production.

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Research Organization:: Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States).

Sponsoring Organization:: NIFA; USDA; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Contributing Organization:: Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0018420

OSTI ID:: 1577368

Journal Information:: Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Journal Name: Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 41; ISSN 2040-5790

Publisher:: Oxford University PressCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Title: The Future of Biofuels in an Electrifying Global Transportation Sector: Imperative, Prospects and Challenges

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