The biofuels available at the start of the 20th Century were unable to compete with the emergence of petrol-based products. The two agroenergy sectors (oil and ethanol) were mothballed while combustible fossil fuels remained cheap and readily available.
A first wake-up call was sounded during the oil crises of 1973 and 1979. In Europe, these events led to a relative take-off in the biodiesel sector. In Brazil, the bioethanol sector was launched. However, the last two decades of the 20th Century saw a fall in crude oil prices, stifling the expansion of biofuel development.
Since the start of the 21st Century, general acceptance that the planet is threatened by the effects of greenhouse gases and growing concerns about oil supplies drying up have created the conditions for a new start for the biofuel industry.
