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

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.