Introduction

The deployment of sustainable bioenergy is urgently needed to reach our climate targets, as set out in the Paris Agreement. According to IEA Renewables 2021 report biofuel demand must nearly double to align with the 2050 Net Zero Scenario drawn by IEA.1 The latest IPCC Working Group 3 contribution to the 6th Assessment Report2 released in April 2022 confirmed that “sourced sustainably and with low-GHG emissions feedstocks, bio-based fuels, blended or unblended with fossil fuels, can provide mitigation benefits, particularly in the short- and medium-term”.

Advanced biofuels produced from non-food biomass, such as wood, straw, and lignocellulosic energy crops are one of the solutions to decarbonize transport, especially in hard-to-abate sectors where electrification and alternative renewable fuels are not available yet, such as aviation, shipping, and long-haul transports.

However, the mobilization of large volumes of biomass is required in order to deploy the full potential of advanced biofuels, so how can we produce them sustainably and at competitive costs, while preserving our environment and without reducing the agricultural land required for food? These are the main research questions which inspired and guided the work of BECOOL, a Horizon 2020 research and innovation project to develop sustainable and efficient value chains for advanced lignocellulosic biofuels, based on lignocellulosic biomass.

Over a period of five years between 2017 and 2022, an international consortium of thirteen partners coordinated by the University of Bologna, carried out a range of research and demonstration activities across the entire lignocellulosic biomass value chain: from the production of non-food crops, to biomass logistics and harvesting, the production of bioenergy intermediates and final products, and a full environmental and socio-economic assessment of their large scale deployment. The activities followed a multi-actor value chain approach, and were based on three pillars. The first pillar was the production of biomass to diversify the feedstock sources for advanced biofuel plants including residues, dedicated annual crops and perennial crops. The second pillar was the design and assessment of optimal biomass logistic chains, to deliver solid biomass and bioenergy intermediates to advanced biofuel plants. Finally, the third pillar was the increase of efficiency and the integration of conversion processes, including both thermochemical and biochemical pathways, for the production of road and aviation fuels.