ABSTRACT
Biofuels have been part of the daily life of humankind since men learned to make fire. Over thousands of years the technologies changed little. More recently, in the past hundred years or so, more advanced processes have come into use to transform solid biomass into gases and liquids through pyrolysis and gasification. Starch and sugar-containing agricultural materials, which had long been fermented for potable uses, acquired a new market in the form of fuel ethanol. Oil-bearing biomass began to be used as diesel fuel substitute, directly or transformed into biodiesel. Technology change in the biofuels space continues with the promise of second-generation processes that are based mainly on non-food feedstocks. Technology is but one of many factors influencing the market penetration of biofuels at national and international levels. Besides its scientific and technical components, technology also embodies a host of choices made, relative to social, economic and environmental policies. Such choices include the selection of feedstocks for biofuels and scales of production, urban versus rural development, public versus personal transportation; labour intensiveness, capital intensiveness; and openness to international trade and foreign investment. Technology change and technology transfer results from many day-to-day decisions engaging the relevant stakeholders who participate in the decision-making process regarding strategy, investment, international trade and market opportunities. Cultural preferences, consumer awareness, social values, lifestyles, corruption, competition and so on are also reflected in technology transfer (Trindade, 2000). Crucial to managing the flow of technology change and transfer is the existence of national systems of innovation – that is, the institutional and organizational structures – that support technology development and innovation. The innovation system includes, inter alia, education, technology and investment financing,
standards and norms and intellectual property rights protection. Governments can build or strengthen scientific and technical educational institutions and modify the form or operation of technology networks; that is, the interrelated organizations generating, diffusing and utilizing technologies (Mckenzie-Hedger et al., 2000).
