Will green chemistry blow up?

Green chemistry is largely a behind-the-scenes industry. But it’s one that’s poised for a huge growth spurt, according to a report released last week by clean tech research firm Pike Research.

Globally, green chemistry, which aims to eliminate waste and toxic materials in chemical products and processes, is a $2.8 billion industry. In the next decade it could be worth almost $100 billion, according to the report.

Since green chemistry includes a host of industrial process and materials, it’s not easy to define. For the sake of its report, Pike identified three key areas where green chemistry is likely to see growth: minimizing the waste of chemical production processes; developing renewable feedstocks; and creating less-toxic materials for existing products.

Despite the sector’s potential, most products aren’t quite ready for prime time.

“Green chemistry markets are currently nascent, with many technologies still at laboratory or pilot scale,” Pike Research president Clint Wheelock said in the report.  “And many production-scale green chemical plants are not expected to be running at capacity for several more years.”

However, since green chemistry companies are looking to tap into big, existing markets, they don’t necessarily face the same challenges as other cleantech startups that are trying to develop new markets.

As for how the market for green chemistry will grow, it will probably be a matter of small startups teaming up with industry heavyweights for capital and distribution, according to the report.

That’s what Genomatica is doing. The San Diego-based green chemistry startup, which pulled in $45 million in venture funding this year, is collaborating with Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Waste Management, and other companies that make chemicals for products ranging from artificial sweetener to polyester.

The company also won one of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Chemistry Challenge Awards announced earlier this month. Other winners included Sherwin-Williams, which developed a paint made from recycled soda bottles and soybean oil, and a company that makes membranes for desalination.