The State of Biomass Energy

The global biomass power market is valued at approximately $149.7 billion in 2025, according to Precedence Research. It is projected to reach $251.6 billion by 2034, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 5.95%. Europe leads with a 39% market share ($55.1 billion in 2024), followed by Asia-Pacific. Global investment in bioenergy is expected to reach $16 billion in 2025, a 13% increase from 2024, according to the IEA.

BECCS stands for Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage. It generates energy from biomass while capturing the resulting CO₂ and storing it underground, producing net-negative emissions. Current global BECCS capacity is approximately 2 million tonnes of CO₂ per year across 3 large-scale facilities, primarily ethanol plants. Major expansions are underway: Denmark's Ørsted Kalundborg Hub will capture 430,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually starting January 2026, and the UK's Drax is planning an 8 Mt CO₂ facility. Climate models indicate BECCS could sequester 0.5–5 billion tonnes of CO₂ per year by 2050.

The EU Renewable Energy Directive III (Directive 2023/2413), effective November 2023, significantly tightens biomass sustainability rules. Key changes include: lowering the capacity threshold to 7.5 MW thermal, raising the GHG savings requirement to 80% for new installations from January 2026, banning biomass sourcing from old-growth forests and High Conservation Value areas, introducing the cascade utilisation principle (wood products before energy use), and restricting subsidies for electricity-only generation from forest biomass. Member States had until May 2025 to transpose the directive into national law.

Black pellets are produced through torrefaction — heating biomass to 200–300°C in an oxygen-free environment. This process increases energy density by 20–30% compared to standard white wood pellets, makes pellets water-resistant and hydrophobic, and enables co-firing in existing coal power plants at ratios up to 50% without major equipment modifications. They cut carbon emissions by up to 85% versus coal. The global black pellets market was valued at approximately $100–300 million in 2025, growing at 14–15% CAGR. Blackwood Technology's FlashTor plant in Thailand became the first commercial-scale facility in 2024.

In 2024, bioenergy generated 698 TWh of electricity globally, representing 3% year-over-year growth, according to Ember's Global Electricity Review 2025. Global installed biopower capacity reached 151 GW in 2024, with 4.6 GW of new capacity added — a 53% increase over the 3.0 GW added in 2023. China leads with 31 GW of installed capacity, followed by Brazil (18 GW), the United States (11 GW), and India (10.7 GW). Bioenergy accounts for approximately 2.6% of total global electricity generation.