Biofuels made from wood waste and sugarcane have languished well below expectations for years but new production coming on line promises explosive growth by 2015, the chief executive of producer Beta Renewables said on Monday.

The United States produced just 20,000 gallons of so-called cellulosic biofuel last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That was a mere 0.04 percent of a 500-million-gallon target the U.S. government set in 2007.

Beta Renewables opened its first plant in Italy in the final quarter of last year and sees 2013 as a turning point for the industry as demand surges and more production comes online.