BE-Sustainable Magazine May 2014

Be sustainable

The magazine of bioenergy and the bioeconomy May 2014

BIOmass HEATING

Italian Pellet Market | Biomass Technology Roadmap | BioGrace II Sustainability Schemes | EU BC&E 2014

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EU BC&E 2014

22nd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition

CCH - Congress Center Hamburg, Germany 23 - 26 June 2014

The leading international platform for dialogue between research, industry, policy and business of biomass

Browse through the Programme online! www.eubce.com

EU BC&E in brief • • • • • • • • •

65 countries represented 915 abstracts received 12 sessions on Biomass Resources 16 sessions on Biomass Conversion Technologies for Heating, Cooling and Electricity 18 sessions on Biomass Conversion Technologies for Intermediates, Liquid and Gaseous Fuels, Chemicals and Materials 13 sessions on Biomass Policies, Markets and Sustainability 8 Industry oriented sessions focusing on the most pressing issues related to biomass and bioenergy A dynamic and stimulating exhibition running parallel to the conference Parallel events complementing the scientific conference, addressing specific topics and including the most recent technology and processes, market and business trends facebook.com/EuropeanBiomassEUBCE twitter.com/EUBCE youtube.com/EUBCE

European Biomass Industry Association

editorial

Bioenergy is essential for effective climate change mitigation strategies

L ast April the International Panel on Climate Change released its 5th assessment report which responds to the request of the world's governments for a comprehensive,

objective and policy neutral assessment of the current scientific knowledge on mitigating climate change. The transformation pathway proposed in this report includes bioenergy among the tools which could play a significant role within the future energy system to cope with this global challenge. Indeed scenarios project increasing deployment of bioenergy with tighter climate targets, in a range between 35% of total primary energy demand in 2050 up to as much as 50% in 2100. Even though some studies suggest to focus on the lower half of this range, these figures provide further evidence that biomass is a fundamental resource for the transition to a low-carbon economy. The study also provides extensive literature evidences on the beneficial effects that the deployment of bioenergy may bring to sustainable development. For instance, did you know that “Brazilian sugar cane ethanol production provides six times more jobs than the Brazilian petroleum sector”, or that “when combined with agro-forestry, palm oil plantations can increase food production locally and have positive impact on biodiversity and carbon enhancement”?

These evidences are also confirmed by the figures released by the Eurobserv’ER annual “State of Renewable Energies in Europe” report that we cover in this issue: almost 38% of jobs and 37% of the turnover generated by the whole renewable energy sector in 2012, can be attributed to bioenergy for power generation, heating and biofuels.

While much of the current policy debate in Europe, as well as many of the research and industrial efforts are focused on biomass power and biofuels, biomass heating has been somehow neglected, particularly in the current discussion for the 2030 energy policy, despite representing one of the most sustainable and efficient ways of utilizing this resource today. This is why we decided to provide a focus on this topic in this issue of BE-Sustainable, highlighting the role of biomass heating in future energy policy scenarios and the technology roadmap recently prepared by the EU Renewable Heating and Cooling Platform. This describes the technological innovations which are needed to tap the full potential of biomass heating, especially with regard to maximizing efficiency while minimizing combustion emissions and utilizing alternative feedstock to wood, such as herbaceous biomass. Indeed, the demand for wood pellets for space heating is growing sensibly in Europe and this is already driving an increasing trade flow from overseas to countries such as Italy, which has now become one of the world’s biggest importers of wood pellets.

Happy reading.

Maurizio Cocchi Editor editorial@besustainablemagazine.com

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www.staralliance.com Information correct as of 06/2013

summary

Be sustainable

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BE sustainable ETA-Florence Renewable Energies via Giacomini, 28 50132 Florence - Italy www.besustainablemagazine.com Issue 5 - May 2014 ISSN - 2283-9486

Editorial notes · M. Cocchi |

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News | Bioenergy and bioeconomy news around the world

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Statistics · M. Cocchi | Bioenergy in the "State of Renewable Energy" in Europe

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Markets · M. Cocchi | The Italian pellet market is increasingly relying on imports

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Heating · N. Goodwin| Biomass heating technology roadmap

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Heating · L. Kranzl et al. | The role of biomass heating for EU energy policy targets

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Sustainability · N. Ludwiczek | BioGrace II - Harmonised GHG Calculations

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Sustainability · E. Otazu et al. | European solid biomass sustainability scheme approach

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Sustainability · A. Lutzenberger et al. | Heat sustainability indicators

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Events | Debate, demonstrate, innovate. EU BC&E 2014

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Events | European biomass markets at IBCE

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BE Sustainable is published by ETA-Florence Renewable Energies, Via Giacomini 28, 50132 Florence, Italy Editor-in-Chief: Maurizio Cocchi | editorial@besustainablemagazine.com | twitter: @maurizio_cocchi "Direttore responsabile: Maurizio Cocchi" "Autorizzazione del Tribunale di Firenze n. 548/2013" Managing editor: Angela Grassi | angela@besustainablemagazine.com Authors: E. Maletta, M. V. Lasorella, W. Baaske, B. Lancaster, V. Magnolfi, C. Uggè, M. Arndt, K. Svane Bech, S. Luostarinen, K. Tybirk, S. Kent, M. Speets Marketing & Sales: marketing@besustainablemagazine.com Graphic design: Tommaso Guicciardini Corsi Salviati Layout: Laura Pigneri, ETA-Florence Renewable Energies Print: Mani srl | Via di Castelpulci 14/c | 50018 Scandicci, Florence, Italy Website: www.besustainablemagazine.com The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher.

Image on page 34 by © iStockphoto/freezingtime ISSN - 2283-9486

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Bioenergy and bioeconomy news around news

Novozymes to open new research and development center in United States The center will be dedicated to the bioagriculture business and will be located near the Research Triangle Park in Cary, North Carolina where the company will invest $36 million over the next three years and create 100 new research and development jobs.

Scientists at the new site in North Carolina will research and develop beneficial microorganisms found in the soil. The resulting technology will focus on improved crop yield, fertility and pest control for growers around the world. The significant expansion of R&D resources will enable Novozymes’ scientists to pursue more and better biological solutions for the ever-changing challenges facing global agriculture

Europe selects Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant as a demonstrator pilot line for industrial biotechnology Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, a pilot plant for biobased products and processes located in the port of Ghent (Belgium) was selected by the European Commission as a demonstrator multi-KETs pilot line.

KETs or Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) are considered to directly or indirectly stimulate Europe’s competitiveness and generate jobs, growth and wealth in the economy. Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant is a European front runner in terms of industrial biotechnology, one of the six European KETs. 11 March 2014 http://tinyurl.com/nnlr3hg

23 April 2014 http://tinyurl.com/o22qy92

CoolPlanet Starts Construction on First Commercial Facility Cool Planet Energy Systems, a technology company producing green fuels and biochar products, broke ground of its first commercial facility in Alexandria, Louisiana. The facility is designed to produce 10 million gallons per year of high-octane, renewable gasoline blendstocks, as well as biochar, all made from sustainable wood residues

Cuba plans to invest up to $1.7bln in biomass power State sugar holding company Azcuba is planning to install up to 19 biomass power plants, Prensa Latina reported.

The biomass plants — some attached to sugar mills, some would be remodels of existing power plants — would generate up to 765 megawatts in electric power mostly with bagasse. Despite the steep upfront price, the investment would amortize quickly in the shape of savings on oil purchases

26 February 2014 http://tinyurl.com/l5bv98d

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http://tinyurl.com/pdc5ta4

the world

news

Fortum, UPM and Valmet join forces to develop new advanced biofuels technology

New EU BIO-GO project focuses on nanocatalysis to produce fuels from renewable bio-oils and biogas

The idea is to develop catalytic pyrolysis technology for upgrading bio-oil and commercialise the solution.The five-year project is called LignoCat (lignocellulosic fuels by catalytic pyrolysis). and it is a natural continuation of the consortium’s earlier bio-oil project together with the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, commercialising integrated pyrolysis technology for production of sustainable bio-oil for replacement of heating oil in industrial use.

The Biogo process is an integrated approach utilizing novel heterogeneous nanoparticulate catalysts in petrochemical and fuel syntheses from sustainable resources in conjunction and integrated with the enabling functions of innovative microreactor technology. A selected processing route shall be scaled-up to mini-plant level. In parallel, demonstration activities are focused on the demonstration of (nano-) catalyst production.

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http://tinyurl.com/kgtaba2

http://tinyurl.com/mgkhmmb

UN IPCC report: sustainable biofuels are way forward The published IPCC report, 'Bioenergy and climate change mitigation: an assessment', released as part of the IPCC 5th Assessment Report, comes as the EU considers the future of its biofuels policy within its climate and energy policy framework up to 2030.The report emphasises how EU policymakers should not ignore the benefits offered by sustainable biofuels. EU Commission statistics show that EU transport emissions have risen by 36% since 1990 levels and are now responsible for 26% of Europe's total GHG emissions 5 March 2014 http://tinyurl.com/knt4bun

Germany: Biogas industry to experience growth slowdown in 2014 but to recover in 2015 Three quarter of the experts interviewed by the German Biogas Association within the framework of a market survey argue that there is a tense mood reigning over the German biogas market at the moment. with forecasts showing that in the view of the current political climate slightly more than 100 new plants with an installed capacity of just under 40 MW are expected to be built in the year in course.

From 2015, the situation could change due to a revision of the recycling law, which would make the separate collection of biowaste from households mandatory.

Accordingly, up to four million tonnes of household and kitchen waste could be additionally collected and fermented in biogas plants.

6 May 2014 http://tinyurl.com/kyepp85

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bioenergy in the “State of Renewable Energy� in europe 38% of jobs, 37% of turnover in renewable energy are generated by bioenergy M. Cocchi - Editor

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statistics

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ast February the Eurobserv’ER consortium published its 13th annual report about the “State of Renewable Energies in Europe�. The report provides background data on renewable energy, employment, turnover and investment climate in the European Union.

Gross final energy consumption from renewable energy sources increased significantly in 2012, reaching a share of 14.0% compared 12.9% in 2011; this growth puts the EU 2020 target is on sight, only 6% far, and several Member States are well on track to meet their national targets.

The output of renewable electricity for 2012 was estimated at 763.5 TWh, that is a share of more than 20%.

The growth of the renewable energy sector is delivering also positive socio-economic outcomes. In 2012 renewable energy accounted for 1.22 million of jobs in EU 27 and

bioenergy contributed with a great share to this achievement.

Indeed solid biomass ranked as the 2nd top employer behind wind power (280,000 and 300,000 jobs created respectively) and biofuels generated 110,000 jobs, while photovoltaics accounted for 250,000 jobs. The loss of jobs due to the recent crisis in the PV sector was partially recovered by the growth in the wind sectors.

In terms of turnover the economic value of renewable energy for EU 27 was assessed at 130 billion euro, with the highest turnover rates attributed to wind power (34.4 billion euro), photovoltaic (30.8 billion euro) and solid biomass (27.7 billion euro).

These figures indicate that 38% of jobs, 37% of turnover in renewable energy in Europe are generated by bioenergy. and give us a fairly positive outlook on the European renewable energy sector for 2012.

Biogas Primary energy production from biogas grew by 15.7% in 2012 (+1.6 Mtoe) mainly driven by the expansion of new anaerobic digestion plants from agricultural sources and wastes, which accounts for 2/3 of the share, while landfill gas only covered 23% and biogas from sewage covered 9.9%.

Biogas is still mainly used for power production, indeed electricity from this source increased by 22% in 2012 (46.3 TWh), however as much as 65% of this electricity was produced by plants working in cogeneration.

Indeed a growing amount of heat is recovered from biogas plants and is increasingly reused. In the majority of cases, biogas heat is utilized directly on site for drying sludge, space heating and for the heating needs of digesters. So far the sale of biogas heat in district heating networks

is still limited, as plants are decentralized from urban areas and dedicated networks are hard to implement.

In this regard a more feasible solution to transport energy from biogas to where it is needed is provided by biomethane injection into the gas grid. Germany is clearly leading the way in this field, according to the German Energy Agency 130 biogas upgrading units were operating in 2013 in Germany (80,390 Nm3) and 28 more were under construction. Besides Germany, to date seven countries are active in biomethane to gas grids: Austria, the Netherlands, the UK, France, Spain, Finland and Luxembourg. By 2017, 113,000 Nm3 of biomethane should be produced.

Germany still produces more than a half of the EU primary energy from biogas, however since feed-in tariffs

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Figure 1: BioEthanol Plant, Denmark

for electricity were cut by 1-2 â‚Źcents in 2012, new installed biogas units were only 340 units compared to 1,270 in 2011.

Statistics by the German Biogas association foresee that 7,720 plants should be installed by 2013,with a cumulative capacity of 3,547 MWel. Italy ranks second in EU for the number of installed biogas plants and in Czech Republic a 50% increase in primary energy production from biogas was observed in 2012.

Overall the biogas sector is on track to meet the targets set by NREAPs for electricity as well as for heating, nevertheless, new investments will have to be made in countries different than Germany in order to meet the 2020 targets. Most promising countries are France, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Biofuels The statistics of the biofuels sector reveal the effect that the policy debate at EU level is having on the biofuels industry, with the amendments to the Renewable Energy and Fuel Quality Directives still pending, which may reduce the binding targets for 1st generation biofuels and introduce a minimum share for advanced biofuels.

Indeed biofuels consumption at EU level increased by only 4% in 2012, while in the previous years the growth rate was sensibly higher. A positive trend was observed in terms of compliance with sustainability requirements.

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According to Eurobserv’ER, 82% of biofuels were certified for sustainability in 2012 (11.7 Mtoe out of 14.3) while only 61% was certified in 2011. Biodiesel still accounts for 79% of the total energy content consumption, whilst bioethanol accounts for 20.1%.

Germany is still the main consumer of biofuels (both biodiesel and bioethanol), and the consumption was 100% certified sustainable. France was the top biodiesel consumer in 2012 as its consumption rose by 12.6% in one year and as for Germany, all its biofuels were certified as sustainable in 2012.

A 15.9% drop in the total consumption of biofuels was recorded in UK. The reason of this drop lies in the change of legislation since 2012 which introduced double counting for biodiesel from used cooking oil, which enabled distributors to reduce their incorporation rates.

Solid biomass In 2012 gross energy consumption from solid biomass was assessed at 85.6 Mtoe, marking a +5.4 increase compared to 2011. Imports of wood pellets from Canada, U.S. and Russia already cover 30% of the demand in EU 27. The use of biomass for heating increased by 19% in 2012 compared to 2011 when the mild winter reduced the demand for heating in Nordic countries. The production of electricity from biomass rose by 9% on a year to year basis, amounting to 80 TWh globally.

statistics

solid biomass.

An opposite trend was observed in the biofuels sector, where asset financing tripled in 2012 amounting to € 491 million, 40% of which financed from balance sheets and the remaining 60% covered by project finance. Investments refer almost exclusively to bioethanol plants, in Figure 2: 2012 distribution of empolyment by sector in EU (Eurobserv'ER) UK; France and the Netherlands and Italy.

Asset financing in solid biomass for utility-scale projects totaled €1.08 billion (from 3.05 billion in 2011), spread among 13 large projects for an overall new installed capacity of 800 MW. Two large projects were financed in Sweden, followed

by Spain, Hungary and Denmark.

UK experienced a contraction in investments in 2012, only €36 million from over 1.83 billion in 2011, caused Figure 3: 2012 turnover by sector in millions of euros (Eurobserv'ER) by a stall in the reconversion of coal plants due to relatively low coal In Sweden a sensible increase in the use of biomass for prices and uncertainties in the support scheme for biopower. heating as well as for electricity was recorded, and no biomass was imported. In 2012 a common market for green certificates The full report is available at: was launched in Sweden and Norway which is expected to http://www.eurobserv-er.org/pdf/bilan13-gb.asp drive further investments in biomass cogeneration.

In France, the commissioning of biomass projects financed by the Heat Fund brought to an increase in total biomass energy consumption by 9.3% in 2012. Launched in 2008 by ADEME, the Heat Fund program led to the installation of 1150 MW of thermal capacity distributed in 109 projects.

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Socio-economic and financial indicators As bioenergy covers an increasing amount of the final energy consumption in all energy sectors, the socio-economic outcomes of this growth are also tangible and for the first time they were assessed by Eurobserv’ER at EU 27 level in this report. A negative finding of the report is relative to asset financing for utility scale projects; a significant contraction in financing arrangements was indeed observed between 2011 and 2012 and this might reduce the further growth of RES figures in the next years.

The report indicates that as much as € 5.7 billions of turnover and 69.000 direct and indirect jobs can be attributed to the commissioning of new biogas installations in 2012, including manufacturing and components, O&M and agricultural activities for the supply of feedstock. A contraction in asset financing investments in new utilityscale biogas capacity was observed in 2012, only € 42 million in 4 projects compared to € 58 million in 7 projects in 2011. Overall these new investments should bring an additional installed capacity of 13 MWel, which is a quite limited achievement compared to other sectors such as i.e.

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news

The Italian pellet market is increasingly relying on imports M.Cocchi - Editor

Source:RHC-Platform courtesy Palazzetti

In 2012 the Italian production of wood pellets was as-

sessed at 300.000 tons, with a cumulative capacity of 450,000 tons. This means a significant decrease of domestic production, while the internal demand is in continuous growth and has reached 2.5 million tons in the past year.

The Italian production of wood pellets had steadily increased from 160,000 tons in 2003 to around 750,000 tons in 2007. The reasons for the recent production decrease are related to feedstock costs and high energy costs for drying, which affect the Italian sector.

Therefore today national production covers approximately only 13% of the domestic demand, which rose by almost 300,000 tons in 2013. This growing trend is expected continue. According to the estimations for biomass heating expressed in the National Renewable Energy Action Plan the Italian market might reach 5 million tons by 2020.

An increasing number of former pellet producers shifted their main activity to the distribution of imported pellets, 12 Be

however some new plants are expected to be commissioned soon and in 2014 the production should increase by 200.000 tons.

The consumption is generated exclusively by the use for heating applications, almost 85% for space heating with wood stoves (1.5 million units installed), while the remaining was used for boilers (50.000 units). Stoves are used as a support system to reduce the consumption of natural gas or LPG. Since 95% of pellet are sold in 15 kg bags, a typical 5-20 kW pellet stove consumes 70-200 bags per each season.

All together more than 10 million wood heating appliances are active in Italy, including pellet stoves and boilers as well as firewood appliances such as closed and open fireplaces, kitchens, wood ovens, firewood and woodchip boilers. Last year the turnover of the Italian pellet and wood stoves manufacturing sector was worth â‚Ź 700 million, with 3,000 direct and indirect jobs linked to this sector. This adds on to the turnover of the boiler manufacturing sector, which was estimated at â‚Ź 150 million, with 1,500 job places.

markets

In addition to wood pellets, in 2013 Italy consumed 19.3 tons of firewood and 4.7 tons of woodchips, the latter ones also used in CHP plants. These figures are equivalent to an amount of 9 Mtoe of primary energy from wood in 2013, which is almost double than the 2020 target set by the Italian NREAP, greatly underestimated.

While the gap between production and consumption is widening, the European countries which have so far traditionally exported to Italy (860.000 tons in 2012) are reducing their exports as a consequence of their growing domestic demand.

This is the case for Germany, Austria, Croatia. Other European producer countries such as Poland, Serbia Romania still have a margin for export, however their national demand is also growing. As a consequence of this an increasing amount of pellet is supplied by overseas countries, namely U.S. and Canada, which have a growing production capacity. In 2013 U.S. shipped more than 3.5 million tons of wood pellet to Europe, mainly for industrial use . Nonetheless it is estimated that in the same year as high as 700.000 tons of this amount were further distributed on the Italian market for residential heating. Some Italian ports are now equipped with fines removers and bagging facilities so it is expected that they will be soon ready to receive bulk pellets from overseas.

The logistic chain is fragmented among many small distributors, nevertheless GDO is playing an increasingly stronger role in distributing pellet directly to final consumers. In addition to GDO, small and medium buyers groups are also present on the territory, this allows single buyers to negotiate prices and benefit from the groups expertise in choosing the best suppliers.

The main drivers for the use of pellets in Italy are represented by the cost competitiveness of pellet heating against other fossil sources and the availability of support measures for the installation of pellet stoves and boilers. Support measures are available in two different forms. The first one and most popular is a tax deduction which can cover up to 50% of the cost for buying and installing a pellet stove and is spread on 10 years. The second one is called "Conto Termico" and is a feed-in tariff for renewable heating.

An important requirement for eligibility to these measures is that the heating devices must be fuelled with high quality pellets certified in accordance with EN 14961-2 standard in order to maximize efficiency and reduce ashes and particulate emissions. As a consequence of this, the market requires a combination of competitive prices and high quality products.

In therms of energy units the cost of pellet heating is still very competitive compared with LPG and heating oil (two

fuels often used in country homes), while the cost advantage with natural gas is much lower though still relatively positive While in Germany and Austria the price for residential pellets has increased by 15% in one year (230 €/t in oct. 2012, 270 €/t in 2013), in Italy the reduced heating needs of the past

wood chips wood logs bulk pellet pellet in bags Natural Gas Heating oil LPG 0

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Cost of primary energy €/MWh of different heating fuels.

Source - AIEL

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Price of pellets 15kg bags in different European countries. Source EPC 2013

winter have kept the prices stable in the order of 230-240 €/t at wholesale for bagged pellet.

With these conditions, securing supply at a competitive price will be a big challenge for Italy , which has now become the biggest market in EU for residential use pellets.

With the country increasingly relying on imports, it is likely that North American countries will have a much bigger role as suppliers in the future unless domestic production is promoted.

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Biomass Heating Technology Roadmap Niall Goodwin – European Biomass Association

H

eat accounts for roughly half of the final energy consumption in the European Union. The heating and cooling sector is a vital component of the overall primary energy demand in the EU and the importance of renewable heating and cooling (RHC) in this context is not to be underestimated.

Integration of RHC technologies is essential for the 2020 achievement of the European 20-20-20 targets and to contribute to the goal of an almost decarbonized energy sector by 2050. Technological innovation is of utmost importance in ensuring that reliable cost-effective and environmentallyfriendly RHC solutions are delivered to different types of consumers in Europe. The European Technology Platform on Renewable Heating and Cooling (RHC-Platform) brings together over 800 stakeholders from the biomass, geothermal and solar thermal sectors, as well as from the related cross-cutting technologies to accelerate technological developments by maximizing synergies and strengthening efforts towards research, development and innovation in order to define a common strategy and make RHC a strong contributor to the future EU energy system.

Biomass is the main renewable energy source used in the European Heating and Cooling sector and with the overall share of Biomass use expected to more than double, there is a need for the mobilization of new biomass sources as well as increased conversion efficiencies for all processes. The Biomass Technology Roadmap is a follow-up document to the “Strategic Research Priorities for Biomass Technology�, published in 2012 by the Biomass Panel of the RHC-Platform. It highlights a number of actions and investments required for the short-term (up to 2020) implementation of the strategic research priorities that were identified. The Roadmap takes a value chain approach, focusing on the entire supply chain with the goal of ensuring the market deployment of techni-

Figure 1: The Value Chain Approach of the Biomass Technology Roadmap

cally reliable, environmentally friendly and cost-competitive biomass-based heating and cooling solutions for different types of consumers. The value chain approach, from the sourcing of the biomass resources to its transformation and conversion into heat is demonstrated in figure 1.

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Sustainable and cost-efficient biomass feedstock supply The development of standardized and sector oriented, sustainable advanced biomass fuels is a key priority in the enlargement of the raw material portfolio for bioenergy in Europe. Such new biomass commodities include thermally treated biomass fuels, fast pyrolysis bio-oil and upgraded biomethane. The aims for 2020 regarding biomass feedstock supply involve sustainable production, a 30% reduction in production costs through the use of intelligent machinery, logistical optimization and optimized supply chain concepts, a reduction of 30% of CO2 emissions in the supply chain, improved feedstock quality, and lower material losses.

The development of advanced standardized biomass fuels should focus on ensuring an enlarged raw materials portfolio for bioenergy in Europe, with a particular focus on the use of agricultural and forestry residues as well as biodegradable waste. The harvesting, pre-treatment and transport fleet needs to grow considerably if the EU aims to mobilize its industrial and energy wood potentials. The Biomass Technology Roadmap addresses these needs identifying thermally Sustainable, innovative and cost-efficient advanced feedstock supply

Cost-efficient, innovative production technologies for biooil technologies

Cost-efficient, production of different thermally treated biomass

Upgrading of biogas to biomethane

Figure 2: Full demonstration of different standardized advanced biomass fuel commodities value chains, taking into account flexibility of raw materials

treated biomass fuels (Torrefaction, Steam Explosion and Hydrothermal carbonization), innovative production and upgrading technologies for bio-oil, and the upgrading of biogas to biomethane as the key applications to achieving the goal of an improved quality of biomass feedstock that is produced in a cost-efficient and sustainable way. The roadmap looks at the entire supply chain, emphasizing the need for intelligent machinery for feedstock production, handling, drying, logistics and storage technologies.

Cost and Energy Efficient, Environmentally Friendly Micro and Small Scale CHP Small and micro-scale CHP constitute a high energy efficient solution for flexible bio-electricity and thermal en-

heating

ergy supply. They are developed for various applications: Micro-scale CHP being serial products that are developed for residential scale heating with electricity production (possibly grid independent) or as cogeneration systems for small industries, the service sector or in micro-grids. Small-scale CHPs are plants for cogeneration in industries, the service sector or district heating and cooling (DHC). The benefits of developing these technologies will be the deliverance of reliable and decentralized renewable energy production for end consumers, contribution to the electrification of the EU energy system and decentralized electricity production in smart grids. Electricity production costs will be reduced through the reduction of investment and maintenance costs, increased electrical efficiency and availability, energy efficient and cost effective storage systems, and a reduced electricity price for the end consumer when compared to electricity from the grid due to instantaneous use.

To achieve this, the Roadmap identifies the need for further materials research, component and system development, performance and efficiency improvement and cost reduction.

The goal is to demonstrate the long-term performance of the technologies to assess the reliability and techno-economics in field operation. Costs will be reduced by technical optimization with a view to serial production. Bio-oil engines will be demonstrated and prototypes of turbines will be operational (20 – 50 kWe).

High Efficient Large-Scale or Industrial Steam CHP with enhanced availability and Increased High Temperature Heat Potential (Up to 600oC) In 2010, around 54% of the gross inland consumption of biomass was fed into electricity and/or heating plants, or used in industrial processes. Given the EU’s climate and energy targets for 2020, biomass use in industrial power plants and DHC is expected to roughly double in 2020 through retrofitting of previous fossil-fuelled as well as new biomass plants.

Significant R&D efforts are needed to develop high-efficient large-scale and industrial multi-fuel systems.

By meeting the main technological challenges of increas-

Figure 3: Indicated range of electric efficiency vs. steam temperature for different fuel and plant types (Adapted from Remondis)

ing fuel flexibility, maintaining high operational electrical efficiency for variable feedstock and/or variable load, increasing steam parameters and/or heat medium temperature, addressing catalyst deactivation issues and PM emissions in

flue gas cleaning systems with increasing share of biomass, and identifying new ash utilization options, numerous societal benefits are found. A significant contribution to renewable heat and electricity supply is delivered through the production of a high added value product such as bioelectricity.

Developing high efficient large scale/industrial steam CHP technologies ensures the commercial deployment of a costeffective bioenergy technology, bringing moderate costs in fuel and conversion. Reliability and flexibility for consumers are increased through the more efficient utilization of the renewable energy source. This will also minimize the environmental impact of large scale CHP units through reduction of emissions and identification of ash utilization pathways.

High Efficient Biomass Conversion Systems for Polygeneration Polygeneration technologies increase the potential for CHP particularly in Middle and Southern Europe by increasing the heat and cold load of power plants. They facilitate a 100% renewable electricity market by enabling the integration of other intermittent renewables, namely wind and solar.

They also additionally offer the possibility to produce bioenergy carriers. Total energy production efficiency is doubled compared to dominant electricity generation based on condensing power production, hence fulfilling the requirements of the Energy Efficiency Directive. Specific emissions (CO2, CO, NOx, SOx) are reduced by half, compared to condensing power productions.

In addition to the production of RHC, CHP and CHP-C (combined heat, power and cooling or polygeneration) technologies are able to provide intermittent electricity, balancing both daily and seasonal changes in solar and wind electricity production and loads of boilers, increasing plant availability, peak load duration and economy. Depending on the season, climactic condition and time of day, the primary function of such biomass fuelled units may change from electricity, H&C to even bio-oil production. Through fractionation, the bio-oil can further be transformed into different products and chemicals (polygeneration) – some of them with a higher value.

The challenge to develop cost competitive polygeneration production plants is identified in the roadmap. Technological development for CHP-C plants entails the need to integrate cooling systems and distribution to CHP plants. There is a need to optimize plant design, eliminate operational problems and improve security of supply.

Conclusion The Biomass Technology Roadmap is now finalized and can be found in the publications section of the RHC-Platform website (www.rhc-platform.org). The document addresses in much greater detail the implementation actions for 2014-2020 that have been identified by the Biomass Panel of the RHC-Platform. It addresses the technological challenges and the European added value and services to society, setting out the key performance indicators against which we will measure the success of the implementation. The Roadmap also outlines the required RD&D activities for each action, stating the estimated number of projects needed and the overall budget required.

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The role of biomass heating for EU energy policy targets L. Kranzl, A. M端ller - Vienna University of Technology

A

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almost double the share of renewable heating and cooling from 2005 to 2020 (Beurskens and Hekkenberg, 2011). Although the share of solar thermal, geothermal and ambient energy should strongly increase until 2020 according to the NREAPs, in absolute terms, biomass would still remain the major RES-H/C source with about 80% of renewable heat in the EU. Besides of this quite generic requirement to consider RESH/C in NREAPs, the renewable energy directive includes another, potentially quite strong instrument: Member States

European Policy Framework with Impact on RES-H There are mainly three EU directives with direct impact on renewable heating: the renewable energy directive (Directive 2009/28/EC), the energy performance of buildings directive (recast) ( Directive 2010/31/EU) and the energy efficiency directive (Directive 2012/27/EU).

Since the renewable energy directive (RED) requires Member States to set up plans for achieving certain overall RES targets, this includes also the heating sector. An analysis of the first round of submitted national renewable energy action plans (NREAPs) reveals that overall, Member States plan to

shall, in their building regulations and codes or by other means with equivalent effect, require the use of minimum levels of energy from renewable sources in new buildings and in existing buildings that are subject to major renovation. This regulation has to be implemented until end of 2014. However, a review of policies in this field, carried out in the project ENTRANZE (www.entranze.eu) shows that only a few member states up to now have established such type of regulations. Examples are obligations for RES-H use in Germany, Ireland or Spain in new buildings or buildings undergoing major renovation.

Renewable heating and cooling (Mtoe)

lmost 50% of the EU final energy consumption is used for heating purposes. Space heating and hot water preparation in the household and the tertiary sector accounts for more than half of it (Eurostat, Sanner et al., 2011). Historically and until the late 1990s, the largest share of biomass has been used for heating, where the household sector contributed the main part, followed by the industry. From 2000 to 2010, the share of biomass in the EU on total primary energy consumption almost doubled. This was mainly driven by the strong growth of electricity generation from biomass and transport biofuels. However, also biomass consumption for heating steadily increased. This growth of biomass was also driven by EU legislation and corresponding energy related directives. In the past few years, additional directives came into place which will have an impact of mid- and potentially also long-term relevance of bioenergy.

In this context, the following questions arise: (1) What is the role of biomass in residential and service buildings for achieving RES-H/C targets in 2020? (2) What are relevant interactions of biomass heating with other RES-H/C technologies and efficiency improvement? (3) What should be the further role of biomass heating in the mid- and long-term?

These questions will be discussed in this article. Moreover, related modelling work and research is presented.

120 100

Renewable energy from heat pumps

80

Biomass

60 40

Solar thermal

20

Geothermal

0 2005

2010

2015

2020

Figure 1. Renewable heating and cooling according to NREAPs Source: Beurskens et al 2011, own calculations

heating

District Heating Plant in Høng Denmark

The energy performance of buildings directive (EPBD recast) sets up the target of ‘nearly zero-energy buildings’ (nZEB), which have to become standard in new building construction after 2020. The directive defines an nZEB as a building that has a very high energy performance; the nearly zero or very low amount of energy required should be covered to a very significant extent by energy from renewable sources. Thus, there is a direct integration of renewable energy and energy efficiency in the target setting. The definition of nZEB in the different member states is quite different and highly difficult to compare. Thus, currently it is still uncertain which impact the EPBD recast will have on RES-H/C and on biomass heating in particular.

The energy efficiency directive (EED) sets energy saving targets and requires member states to support efficient district heating and CHP. In particular, this includes biomass district heating and CHP. Member states have to submit national heating and cooling plans and a cost-benefit analysis of different district heating and CHP options until end of 2015.

Thus, at the current stage a stronger support of biomass district heating and CHP might be expected but is still open.

Long-term energy foresight: the EU energy roadmap The EU energy roadmap (European Commission, 2011) shows different scenarios of the European energy system up to 2050. In all scenarios, the current share of about almost 7% (2010) increases to about 10% in 2020. After 2020, some scenarios hold this biomass share of 10% or slightly increase until 2050. Other development paths, e.g. the “High-RES”, “Diversified supply technologies” or “Low nuclear” scenarios result in an increasing share of biomass on total energy consumption in the range of 22%-27% until 2050. However, besides this absolute increase of the biomass share, a quite

substantial shift in the structure of biomass use and the applied biomass technologies might be expected according to these scenarios. If we look at the use of biomass in the triangle of (1) heat, (2) electricity generation and CHP and (3) transport biofuels, we can observe a shift from the strong focus on heating (and to some extent electricity) in European biomass use to an increasing relevance of transport fuels and electricity even already in the short period from 2005 until 2010. In 2050, all EU energy roadmap scenarios indicate that biomass use is much more evenly distribute in this triangle.

This means that the main growth is expected in the sector of transport biofuels and electricity generation.

So, why is the role of biomass heating expected to decline?

What drives this development? In the next paragraphs, the future trends and possible development paths in the space heating sector and the implications for biomass heating will be discussed in more detail.

Figure 2.Structure of biomass use in EU-energy roadmap scenarios Source: European Commission, 2011, Kranzl et al., 2013

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news

Scenarios space heating and the future relevance of biomass heating The strong evidence for huge energy efficiency potentials in the building sector and in particular for space heating have led to concrete implementations of the efficiency measures, e.g. stronger building codes and support measures for thermal building refurbishment in more or less all EU Member states. As documented above, the EED and EPBD (recast) foster these developments on the EU level. In the past few years, at least in some EU countries these measures already led to stabilising or even declining energy consumption for space heating, despite of growing conditioned floor area. The IEE project ENTRANZE (Policies to enforce the transition to nearly-zero-energy buildings, www.entranze.eu) investigates the impact of different support instruments for energy efficiency in the building sector and develops scenarios1 for EU-Member States and EU-28 as a whole. Preliminary scenario results show that final energy demand for space heating and hot water preparation in the EU is expected to decrease by 35% up to 60% until 2050, depending on the level of ambition in national and EU legislation. Due to the inertia of the building stock and long lead times, in particular the “high efficiency” scenario would need quick and stringent action overall Europe. However, all scenarios in the literature dealing with space heating and hot water preparation indicate a more or less strong decline in space heating energy consumption (e.g. Hansen, 2009, Economidou et al., 2011). In addition, a substantial part of the remaining energy consumption could be covered by solar thermal and ambient energy (made available by heat pumps). Depending on the scenario, this Low

medium

high

Final energy demand for space heating and hot water preparation, EU-27

0% -10% -20% -30% -40% -50% -60%

Savings in delivered energy due to Solar energy and ambient heat 2010-2050 Energy savings due to building renovation 2010 - 2050

-70% -80% -90%

Figure 3. Possible energy savings in the building sector until 2050

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would reduce the remaining energy demand for space heating and hot water preparation to 15% - 55% compared to 2010.

It is evident that these potential developments will have a strong impact also on biomass heating.

For the cases of Austria and Germany, more detailed investigations have been carried out to investigate this transition path and the role of biomass heating (e.g. Müller et al., 2010, Müller, 2013, Wörgetter et al., 2012). Until 2020 in both countries all scenarios show an increasing role of biomass heating both in absolute and relative terms, i.e. total biomass energy demand for space heating increases by about 18% to more than 50% between 2010 and 2020 in Austria and even by 35% to more than 80% in Germany (though starting from a much

lower share in the latter case). This growth will strongly be driven by policy instruments and economic side conditions for biomass heating and general RES-H. Until 2050, most scenarios show a decrease in absolute terms compared to 2010 in both countries (and even more pronounced in Germany).

However, due to the considerable efficiency improvement in the overall building sector, the market share of biomass still increases. In some cases for Austria even up to a share of more than 40% and in Germany more than 15% in 2050.

Conclusions Taking the results and the arguments raised into consideration, we may derive the following conclusions: • Biomass delivers by far the largest share of renewable heating, currently and according to targets for 2020 • Most scenarios show strongest growth of biomass after 2020 for electricity generation and transport biofuels • Biomass space heating reduces in most scenarios after 2020 in terms of bioenergy demand for space heating • Thermal building renovation, solar thermal and ambient energy can strongly reduce delivered energy to buildings • Thus, with lower bioenergy consumption a higher share of buildings could be provided with space heating service • Tapping the building‘s efficiency potential is a precondition for a sustainable, resource efficient low carbon energy system • As long as there is a substantial energy consumption for space heating, biomass space heating is one of the cheapest and most attractive options for GHG-reduction. Policies are required to support these options, in particular obligations combined with economic incentives • In the long term, high exergy applications for biomass should be advanced, e.g. high-temperature process heat applications, electricity generation, CHP and district heating, transport fuels, materials and cascadic use In the short-and mid term the relevance of biomass heating will remain high. In the long-term, the role of biomass heating might change, depending on the focus of biomass policies and the ambitions to increase energy efficiency and other RES-H/C options in the building sector.

Summing up, high energy efficiency standards and biomass have to be integrated in order to achieve a high contribution of biomass heating with limited resource consumption.

Acknowledgment This work has been developed in the project ENTRANZE (Policies to enforce the transition to nearly-zero-energybuildings in the EU-27), supported by the European Commission in the frame of the programme Intelligent Energy Europe.

1

Scenario development in the project ENTRANZE is carried out with the highly disaggregated bottom-up modelling tool Invert/EE-Lab (www.invert.at, Müller, 2012, Kranzl et al., 2011).

sustainability development

Nikolaus Ludwiczek - BIOENERGY 2020+

C

onsumers of bio-electricity, bio-heat and bio-cooling want to be sure that the energy they buy helps to mitigate climate change. In particular Member States that subsidize these kinds of renewable energy production need to ensure that the money of tax payers is invested into technologies that definitely save greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Some of them already legislated GHG criteria that economic operators need to prove or are likely to do so; thus affecting the level playing field of biomass trade. In other words bioenergy suppliers have a strong interest in a sound and reliable methodology that enables them to calculate the emissions of their production pathways; and so do verifiers that are being hired by companies.

The BioGrace-II project responds to this need and aims at harmonising GHG calculations for electricity, heating and cooling from biomass in Europe. In doing so it refers to experiences from the implementation of the sustainability criteria for biofuels according to the Renewable Energy Directive that show that a joint approach of Member States would considerably save time and costs for both administration and companies. Member States with high imports of solid biofuels, the industries and sustainability certification schemes therefore support the idea of BioGrace-II. The starting point of harmonisation is expected to come from the European Commission in a follow up to the 2010 report on sustainability requirements for bioenergy (other

than liquid biofuels). This new report will probably contain default GHG emission values for common production pathways of gaseous and solid biomass, and a methodology including fossil fuel comparators. Yet it is not expected that producers can easily make own GHG calculations based on this report. This is what the BioGrace-II calculation tool is meant for.

A draft version of this tool has already been developed using preliminary data and has been tested by a group of stakeholders. In its final version that will be out once the Commission report is published the tool will feature: • a list of standard values • an Excel tool that will: - show how the default values were calculated - allow stakeholders to make calculations themselves • a user manual • detailed calculation rules • a methodological background document.

Throughout the development of the tool, policy makers and stakeholders have been and will be informed and invited to discuss steps of harmonisation and to give feedback in order to achieve the most user-friendly tool possible. Thus BioGrace-II takes an intermediary role between legislation (EU, EC, and Member States), producers and verifiers.

The project is financed by the Intelligent Energy Europe programme (IEE) for a 3-year-period from 2012 to 2015 and builds upon the earlier (2010-2012) IEE-project, equally named BioGrace, which harmonised GHG calculations for biofuels. As an outcome the calculation tool of BioGrace (I) was recognised as a voluntary scheme by the European Commission in June 2013. Another task of the ongoing project therefore is to keep this recognised tool updated and to support verifiers in using it. The next the BioGrace event in June 2014 will be a public workshop in Vienna covering both topics, liquid biofuels as well as solid and gaseous ones.

For more information visit: www.biograce.net

A screenshot of the Biograce II tool

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news

European solid biomass sustainability scheme appr E. Otazu, B. de Ulibarri - CENER

In the Climate and Energy Package of 2008, the European

Union (EU) has committed to a 20% reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by the year 2020 and a 20% share of renewable energy in the overall EU energy mix by the same year.Key instruments in reaching these targets are Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of renewable energy sources (RED) and Directive 2009/30/EC which revises the Fuel Quality Directive. RED seeks the promotion of this energy in compliancy with a set of sustainability requirements, which are defined in article 17 of the directive.

While these mandatory EU-level sustainability criteria for liquid biofuels were established , the European Commission initially decided in 2010 that there should not be binding EUlevel sustainability criteria for solid biomass. In the Report from the Commission to the council and the European Parliament, COM(2010)11, the Commission recommends, in the absence of an EU-wide sustainability scheme, national sustainability schemes for biomass used in electricity, heating and cooling, complying with the same requirements as those laid down in the RED for biofuels and bioliquids. The objective of this recommendation is to minimize the risk of diverse and possibly incompatible criteria at national level, leading to discrimination in the use of raw materials based on their final use, barriers to trade and limits to the growth of bioenergy.

In addition, the Commission recommended the definition of national support schemes for electricity, heating and cooling installations to provide incentives to achieve high-energy conversion efficiencies. Also suggesting that individual countries come up with their own criteria for sustainability that include, at a minimum, the following principles: • A general prohibition on the use of biomass obtained in land that has been previously converted from forest to other use, as well as other high carbon stock areas and highly biodiversity areas • A common GHG calculation methodology, to be used to ensure that minimum GHG savings from biomass are at least 35% (rising to 50% in 2017, and 60% in 2018 for new installations) compared to the EU’s fossil energy mix • The differentiation of national support schemes in favor of installations that achieve high energy conversion efficiencies, and • Monitoring of the origin of biomass Those principles were set as recommendations to be followed by European countries. Since then, theCommission has not defined any obligation on sustainable criteria, which 20 Be

has lead to a situation where different countrieshave defined their own criteria and have set their own schemes. A few countries have worked in developing its national scheme for sustainable requirements on solid biomass, such as Belgium and United Kingdom.In addition, different voluntary certification schemes are being developed at European and global level, from both private and public initiatives (such as those led by committees of CEN and ISO).

EU initiatives for mandatory biomass sustainability requirements In the Netherlands, the Government is currently in the process of drafting national sustainability criteria for solid biomass, taking account the European Commission’s recommendations, the advices by the Corbey Commission, and other stakeholders’ views. It is likely that the Dutch sustainability criteria for solid biomass (or regarded as “the Dutch assessment protocol for voluntary sustainability schemes for solid biomass”) will be comparable to existing EU-RED criteria for biofuels and liquid biomass, with potential additional criteria on soil quality derived from the NTA 8080 recognized voluntary scheme under RED. In Flanders, Belgium, the legislation specifies a number of requirements for biomass used for electricity generation, as a pre-requisite for obtaining green electricity certificates.

These requirements exclude some types of biomass from incentives for renewable electricity generation. Certain types of solid biomass that can be used for electricity generation, such as wood and wood pellets, shall be obtained from forests certified against a sustainable forest management standard such as FSC, PEFC or equivalent. Another relevant aspect in the Flemish legislation is the energy balance; it forms the basis for calculating the number of certificates that shall be assigned to a certain facility using a certain type of biomass.

In the United Kingdom, since 1st April 2011 biomass electricity generators over 50 kW are required to report compliancy with the following sustainability criteria: - minimum 60% GHG emission saving for electricity generation using solid biomass or biogas, relative to fossil fuel; - general restrictions on using materials sourced from land with high biodiversity value or high carbon stock – including primary forest, peatland, and wetlands.

For the calculation of GHG emissions saving a tool was developed, the Biomass and Biogas Carbon Calculator, which allows generators and others to assess the emissions associated with biomass electricity and heat generation.

sustainability

proach

From October 2013, generating stations of 1 MWel capacity and above (less restrictive criteria than initial) will be required to meet the criteria in order to receive Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) under the Renewables Obligation (RO).

In Germany Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) approved in 2000 regulates the production of electricity from renewable sources such as biomass. The EEG offers fixed payments (feed-in tariffs) for every kilowatt-hour of renewable electricity supplied to the national grid. In 2012 amendment of this Act was introduced, which defined sustainable requirements that have to be fulfilled by biomass in order to be eligible for these feed-in tariffs. Key requirements of this legislation are in line with the RED, and include restrictions on land use, binding the use of biomass from land with a high degree of biodiversity, nature conservation areas or moors, and compliance with good agricultural practice (cross compliance – sustainable agriculture). Furthermore, GHG saving emissions targets to be fulfilled by 2020 were defined.

CEN and ISO voluntary sustainability schemes The European Committee for Standardization established in 2008 the CEN/TC383 Committee for ‘‘Sustainably produced biomass for energy applications’’. CEN/TC383 is developinga European standard for sustainable biomass for energy applications, such as transport, heating, cooling and electricity.CEN standards may be used as a base for certification systems, and address possible azdditional sustainability themes to those defined in the RED: social, environmental and economic aspects, both direct and indirect. The CEN standard shall provide requirements and evaluation methodologies on biodiversity, soil, water, air quality, land use change and loss of carbon stocks. The standard will also include requirements on social issues such as contribution to local employment and welfare, labor conditions, competition with food and local biomass use and land use rights.

CEN/TC 383 shall also define the reporting requirements and conditions for tackling indirect effects.

Six different groups are working on terminology, consist-

ency of evaluation methods and other cross-cutting issues; GHG emission and fossil fuel balance; biodiversity and environmental issues; economic and social aspects; verification and auditing, including chain of custody; indirect effects (land use change, economic, social aspects and food).

Principles of management standard series like ISO 9000, ISO 14000 and ISO 26000 shall be included in the CEN Standard. The GHG calculation methodology should take into account ISO 14040 for Life Cycle Assessment and ISO 14064 series for GHG accounting and verification.

To date CEN has published 3 parts of the standard 16214 as a European Standard (parts 1, 3 and 4) and another part (part 2) as a Technical Specification (part 2): • EN 16214-1:2012: Sustainably produced biomass for energy applications - Principles, criteria, indicators and verifiers for biofuels and bioliquids • Part 1: Terminology • Part 2: Conformity assessment including chain of custody and mass balance.

• Part 3: Biodiversity and environmental aspects related to nature protection purposes • Part 4: Calculation methods of the greenhouse gas emission balance using a life cycle analysis • CEN/TS 16214-2:2014: Sustainably produced biomass for energy applications - Principles, criteria, indicators and verifiers for biofuels and bioliquids The International Standards Organization (ISO) is developing an international standard to address sustainability issues related to bioenergy production. A new ISO project committee, ISO/PC 248, sustainability criteria for bioenergy, was established for this purpose and its first meeting was held in April 2010. Twenty-nine countries are involved as participants or observers, including China and the USA. ‘‘Associacao Brasileira de Normas Tecnicas’’ (ABNT) from Brazil, and ‘‘Deutsches Institut fur Normung’’ (DIN) from Germany, provide with the secretariat and leadership of the committee.

The ISO/PC248 Project committee on sustainability cri21 Be

sustainability

teria for bioenergy will address the social, economic and environmental aspects of the production, supply chain and use of bioenergy and develop globally harmonized sustainability criteria. ISO/PC248 will develop a global standard (ISO 13065) on sustainability of biomass and conformity assessment including the chain of custody. This will include terminology and environmental, social and economic aspects related to the sustainability of bioenergy. The standard shall contribute to tackling social and environmental issues and to helping avoid technical barriers to trade on bioenergy and making bioenergy more competitive.

The ISO/PC248 has four working groups focusing on cross-cutting issues (including terminology and verification and audit); greenhouse gases; environmental, economic and social aspects; and indirect effects.

Future European Directive The increasing production and consumption of solid biomass will lead to large-scale biomass trade, which could have potentially negative effects on the environment and may create competition between different energy uses of solid biomass, also considering the emerging production of advanced biofuels, obtained from the same lignocellulosic raw materials, in which RED mandatory sustainability requirements are applying at the moment.

In this context, there is a need for established mandatory sustainability requirements for all energy uses of solid biomass, replacing (or including) the variety of different sustainability standards and other regulatory policies adopted by nations with a coherent set of uniform requirements.

As discussed above, there is a lack of European policy harmonization on this issue, obviously necessary for sustainable production and trade of bioenergy at large scale.

On this, in August 2013 there was a leak of the draft proposal from Commission on sustainable requirements for solid and gaseous biomass. In October 2013, the Commission announced that there will be no proposal for binding sustainability requirements for solid and gaseous biomass used for electricity and heating and cooling before the 2014 elections for the European Parliament.

The Commission also announced that it will publish an update of the 2010 Communication in early 2014.It is expected that when the proposal will be made public, it is going to be on the lines of the leaked document and taking into account sustainable requirements as those defined for liquid biofuels.

Meanwhile, as shown in this assessment, some countries are defining their sustainable criteria for solid biomass, with the hope that their laws might match-up with the new proposal from the Commission.

There is a need for stronger coordination and integration of numerous biomass sustainability approaches, and for developing common frameworks, definitions, and methodologies.

The efforts to make biofuels for transport sustainable should be complemented with the same efforts to make the other uses sustainable too. Sustainability requirements should be applied globally to all energy uses of solid biomass, enabling the creation of a level playing field. This will assure transparent, non-discriminatory and objective rules for players in the biomass market.

"The increasing production and consumption of solid biomass will lead to large-scale biomass trade.

There is a need for stronger coordination and integration of numerous biomass sustainability approaches, and for developing common frameworks, definitions, and methodologies."

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WORLD BIOENERGY 2014 INCLUDING WORLD BIOREFINERY

3–5 JUNE 2014 JÖNKÖPING, SWEDEN

WWW.WORLDBIOENERGY.COM

Your forum global sin 2004 ce

Regis t for th er confe e ren now! ce

• EXHIBITION • CONFERENCE • STUDY VISITS • WORKSHOPS NEW! • MATCHMAKING

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sustainability

Sustainability indicators for assessment of local renewable energy heat supply D. Hehenberger-Risse, A. Lutzenberger- Leuphana University

The aim of this project was to define indicators to evaluate

local heat supply systems based on renewable energy compared to reference scenarios based on the use of fossil energy sources.

A method was developed to assess the sustainability of local heat supply systems focusing on environmental aspects and considering also economic and social aspects.

Different examples from projects and scenarios of heat production from biomass, biogas, and solar heating, combined with near-surface geothermal heat storage, geothermal energy and fossil energy peak-load systems, were compared to a baseline fossil energy scenario.

Two district heating projects in Bavaria (namely Speichersdorf and Mitterteich) were considered, based on the total heat generated (final energy) by the respective type of energy supply. A scenario for heat supply was assessed, considering a geothermal plant operating in duplicate to provide heat to storage area for the storage project village.

The study examined the main system components; boilers, solar heat collectors, geothermal energy storage, geothermal heat system and the heat distribution network. For this purpose, a life cycle assessment and life cycle analysis based on using a series of energy and emissions indicators were calculated.

To determine the energy consumption and emissions caused by the use of the district heating network itself, different heat supply variants were calculated with and without the presence of a distribution network and of a geothermal storage system1.

The results of the individual indicators were grouped and a

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Figure 1: Results of comparing environmental impacts of heat supply options with and without heat storage and geothermal power1

balance sheet indicator “avoided environmental impacts� was developed to demonstrate the overall results for assessment the compliance with the environmental quality objective.

The reference baseline scenario of decentralized district heating based on oil and natural gas was compared to the following variants: Mitterteich Sc1

Biomass plant for base load+ natural gas plant for peak load

Speichersdorf Sc 2

V1 Oil Gas

Oil- and natural gas boiler

Sc 3

V2

Biomass-Heating plant

Sc 4

V2aBG

Biomass heating plant + biogas CHP

Sc 5

V3 Solar 40

Biomass heating plant + solar heating with aquifer storage (40%)

Sc 6

V4 Solar 20

Biomass heating plant + solar heating with geothermal-Storage (20%)

Sc 7

V4aBG Solar 20

Biomass heating plant + biogas CHP + solar heat with geothermal storage (20%)

Sc 8

V5VG1b

Biomass heating plant 2 MW

Sc 9

V5VG1b Solar 8

Biomass heating plant 2 MW +solar heating (8%)

Sc 10

V6Geoth

Geothermal heating plant

Table 1: Different scenarios of renewable and fossil heating systems

Results The results of the assessment of each heating supply variant and the comparisons with the baseline scenario are presented in figure 1.

The term mNetz in figure 1 illustrates the result of each heat supply variant with heat distribution network.

The abbreviation mNetzSo contains in addition to heat generation and heat network the component geothermal reservoir storage (aquifer). The calculation for the respective heating network was based on plastic jacket pipe and HDPE pipe for the probe of the geothermal storage Overall, the reference scenario has the most negative environmental impacts (0,4 kWh/kWh heat), while the scenario forseen for the project in Mitterteich (biomass plant for base load+ natural gas plant for peak load) has the lowest negative environmental impact of all compared types.

The variant V2 biomass heating oil peak load generation has the relatively lowest cumulative energy demand for the manufacture of boilers and low emissions in combination with a high added value and the current low price.

1

A detailed table with full desciption of all the heat sustainability indicators is available at this address: http://tinyurl.com/p6wyeh3

resources

This is a very good result.

The balance indicator “avoided environmental impacts” shows in percentage the extent of environmental impacts that can be avoided in comparison to the reference scenario, which achieves 0% of avoided environmental impacts, while the scenario for Mitterteich achieves the highest percentage of 114.08%.

The impact of these individual projects on the sustainable development at regional level is shown by the indicator of CO2 equivalent. For this purpose, the data from the Climate Action Plan of the district of Tirschenreuth were set in relationship to the different district heating supply options.

Thus, the project Mitterteich in the district of Tirschenreuth itself already contributes to a CO2 saving of 0.13%. In the realization of a project such as Speichersdorf in the district of Tirschenreuth the CO2 savings, depending on which version will be implemented, would be between 0.67 to 0.69% of CO2 emissions for similar residential use.

The Indicator “regional added value” shows how much capital and purchasing power remains in the region and contributes to its prosperity through the implementation of a renewable district-heating project (table 4). Depending on the different supply variants, between € 105.000 and € 777.000, would remain in the region every year due to the implementation of projects such as Mitterteich and Speichersdorf respectively.

The developed system of sustainability indicators serves as a planning tool for the evaluation of local heat supply projects. Furthermore, the individual indicators can be set in relation to almost any benchmarks at regional, state or international level. With this instrument for example it is possible to calculate the CO2 savings that single projects generate in percentage to a regional target.

Thus, the indicator system is a useful tool also in the development of climate protection plans.

+

p: Worksho ility ainab

INTERNATIONAL VDI CONFERENCE 2014

BIOFUELS

Sust tegrated ent of in assessm ries e bioren 2014 July 17, m Rotterda

Feedstocks and conversion technologies Renowned speakers will present their results on the following topics: • Impacts of EU legislation to the biofuel sector • Economic and ecological background • Efficiency increase: Possibilities for optimization of biofuel production plants • Advanced biofuel production routes • New findings: 3rd generation biofuels • Recent developments of aviation biofuels + Poster presenters welcome

Regional added value

€/MWh

Total

V2

73

765.543

V2aBG

74

77.960

V3 Solark40

64

672.431

V4 Solar 20

68

714.10

V4aBG Solar 20

68

14.108

V6 Geoth

32

330.907

Mitterteich

56

105.212

Table 2: regional added value of the heat supply options 2-6 and Mitterteich - own calculation

OFFICIAL PARTNERS

Date and venue: July 15–16, 2014 Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Conference Chair: Dipl.-Ing. Dina Bacovsky Unit Head Biofuels, BIOENERGY 2020+ GmbH, Wieselburg-Land, Austria

An event organized by VDI Wissensforum GmbH www.vdi-international.com/biofuels

© Artur Marciniec - Fotolia.com

Figure 2: Comprehensive income with balance indicator avoided environmental impact

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Debate Demonstrate Innovate

World leading experts and companies will discuss today’s challenges and show the way ahead for the biomass sector at the 22nd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition.

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iomass and sustainable bioenergy are two pillars of any strategy for the transition to a low carbon economy. Unlike other sources, energy from biomass constitutes an effective solution for decarbonizing all energy sectors, power, heating and transports, not to mention its strategic role for material uses such as bio-chemicals.

The versatility and multi-functionality of biomass are unrivalled among renewable sources, however tapping this potential requires a constant development of high level and capital intensive technologies, capable of utilizing this precious but limited resource in the most efficient way, while preventing negative impacts on food security, biodiversity and the atmosphere.

Dealing with this complex issue requires continuous interaction among research, industry policy and finance, so that the leading minds in each sector are constantly aware of the manifold interdependencies among their respective fields.

Creating a platform for dialogue has always been the scope of the European Biomass Conference and Exhibiton, whose 22nd edition will be held in Hamburg from 23nd to 26th June.

“

We need conferences like this one”, says Prof. Dr. Clemens Hoffmann, Director of Fraunhofer IWES Kassel, who was appointed as Conference General Chairman for this year’s edition.“The mastermind is an inter-human phenomenon which emerges through dialogue, the invocation of which can formulate solutions which take into consideration both the individual problems and their interactions. The structure of this conference intends to take care of this “system” issue” states prof. Hoffmann.

The programme will offer overviews of the latest scientific findings, industrial progress and political landscape. Following the results of the abstracts reviews, the programme has been defined and structured and now comprises: 26 Be

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• 12 sessions on biomass resources • 16 sessions on biomass conversion technologies for heating, cooling and electricity • 18 sessions on biomass conversion technologies for inter mediates, liquid and gaseous fuels, chemicals and materials • 13 sessions on policies, markets and sustainability.

Furthermore, this year 8 new special industry oriented sessions will be held, where technological advancements and research will be demonstrated.

As in the previous editions, the EU BC&E 2014 will feature a series of events addressing global decision makers from industry, research, finance and politics. Among these, the Algae Event 2014, jointly organized by EU BC&E, the EnAlgae Project and RE-CORD Consortium, will be held on Wednesday 25th June. The aim of this event is to get a better understanding of how algae fit into the current biomass industry and how they could contribute to a sustainable bioeconomy in the future. The programme is divided into 4 oral sessions: cultivation; conversion methods and biorefineries; products and applications; sustainability and economics.

A panel discussion will complement the program and will be open to questions and comments from all participants.

Monday 23 June the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, will organize a half day workshop “Developing sustainable, bio-

mass chains in a growing biobased economy: lessons learnt and challenges ahead”. This workshop will share the practical experiences and the main lessons learned of the Netherlands Program of Sustainable Biomass. Based on the program’s experiences, the workshop will focus on next steps for developing sustainable, biomass chains.

Another high-level event on Monday 23rd afternoon will be the Europe-Asia Biomass Forum, which aims at bringing together key biomass industry leaders, representatives from politics, finance and research, from EU, China and other Asian countries, to exchange their views on the formulation and implementation of biomass energy strategies and policies.

Exhibition Building on the success of 2013, the 22nd EU BC&E Exhibition, running parallel to the conference, is once again establishing itself as a key meeting place for the most important players of the biomass industry. It will attract biomass companies and organizations from along the entire value chain and will be the place to address and discuss the fundamental challenges of the bioenergy industry and to illustrate the best innovative technological solutions available to overcome them.

Find all details and register online: www.eubce.com

Get a better understanding on how algae fit into the current biomass industry and how they could contribute to a sustainable bioeconomy in the future.

Wednesday 25 June 2014 EU BC&E2014 European Biomass Conference and Exhibition CCH - Congress Center, Hamburg GERMANY

www.algae-event.com/

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European biomass markets under the spotlight at International Biomass Conference and Exhibition

T

he current trends and the expected evolutions of European markets were thoroughly and frequently discussed by several speakers at the International Biomass Conference and Exhibition, which was held in Orlando, Florida last 25 and 26 March, preceded by a Pellet Supply Chain Summit on March 24.

2013 was an outstanding year for the U.S. pellet industry, over 3 million metric tons of wood pellets were shipped out

by U.S. producers in 2013. There is still considerable margin for growth as the market is expected to double in the next seven years, driven mainly by buyers of industrial pellets for the power market in EU, although the heating market is growing rapidly, as for the case of Italy which doubled its demand in one year.

“The main driver behind the industry’s momentum is policy certainty in Europe, which consumed 20 million metric tons of wood pellets in 2013”, said Seth Ginther executive director of the U.S. Industrial Pellet Association speaking at the general session, ”We’re beginning to achieve, and that’s what’s needed to get capital flowing, contracts signed and to get assets in the ground.”

As examples of these policies, Ginther mentioned the renewal of UK’s Renewables Obligation, a clearer approach to sustainability criteria and recent measures which should enable a market for co-firing in the Netherlands worth 3.5 million metric tons per year.2013 was also a positive year for U.S. residential pellet and biomass thermal, indeed the North American heating market, today at 4 mmt is also expected to grow and reach at least 5 mmt in 2015.

Pellet Fuels Institute President Jennifer Hedrick and Biomass Thermal Energy Council Executive Director Joseph Seymour explained this positive momentum with increased pellet consumption and a more stable normative and policy framework, thanks to tax credits, Farm Bill certainty, a memorandum of understanding signed by the two associations with the USDA, the U.S. EPA’s New Source Performance Standards for Residential Wood Heaters.Biomass Power Association President Bob Cleaves clearly explained 28 Be

how 2013 was a booming year for the biomass power industry, by showing the figures: over 700 MW of capacity were brought online. Besides solid biomass, biogas is also gaining momentum in U.S., according to American Biogas Council Executive Director Patrick Serfass, who said "2013 was a robust year for project development, and the dynamics of the industry are changing in positive ways, especially when it comes to taking advantage of the value of digestate".

While the U.S. biomass industry is taking advantage from this positive moment, it’s been a difficult year for the U.S. advanced biofuel industry, according to Michael McAdams, president of the Advanced Biofuel Association, “We have a lot of guys who have hit the wall,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of member atrophy because they’ve simply run out of runway, and the financial community has not reacted well at all to the fight between corn ethanol and the oil industry, with respect to the RFS.” As far as the algae industry is concerned, Todd Taylor, representing the Algae Biomass Organization, said that even though fuel is still a "golden ring" of potential markets for algae, members are increasingly taking advantages of other nonfuel markets such as nutriceuticals.

As every year, industry awards were given at the general session. John Ackerly, president of the Alliance for Green Heat, received the 2014 Excellence in Bioenergy award for advancing the biomass-to-energy industry through education and advocacy. "One out of 12 American homes are heated with wood," Ackerly said in accepting the award. "We're the only renewable that's really making a difference now, and we're doing it with very few incentives."

Chris Standlee, executive vice president, accepted the Groundbreaker of the Year award on behalf of Abengoa Bioenergy for its work in developing its 25 MMgy cellulosic ethanol project, now close to commissioning at Hugoton, Kansas. "This is a huge project for Abengoa and not just an economic investment," he said, "this will show our expertise, validate our technologies and our EPC capabilities."

resources calendar

Upcoming bioenergy events JUNE 03-05/06/2014

PowerGEN Europe

Cologne, Germany

03-05/06/2014

World Bioenergy

Jönköping, Sweden

10-11/06/2014

Biochemicals and Bioplastics 2014

Düsseldorf, Germany

11-12/06/2014

Oleofuels 2014

Düsseldorf, Germany

11-13/06/2014

International Bioenergy Conference and Exhibition

Prince George, Canada

17-18/06/2014

World Bio Markets Asia

Kuala Lumpur, Malasya

23-26/06/2014

22nd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition

Hamburg, Germany

23-26/06/2014

Professional Certificate in Strategic Sustainable Energy Planning

London, UK

24-25/06/2014

International VDI Conference - Biofuels 2014

Rotterdam, Netherlands

2-3/07/2014

UK AD & BIOGAS

Birmingham, UK

27-29/07/2014

2014 Pellet Fuels Institute Annual Conference

Orlando, Florida, USA

05-06/08/2014

Myanmar Green Energy Summit 2014

Yango, Myanmar

18-19/08/2014

ICEBWEM 2014 : International Conference on Energy, Biomass, Waste and Environmental Management

Istanbul, Turkey

17-18/09/2014

World Bio Markets Brazil

São Paulo, Brazil

23-25/09/2014

Biomass Pellets Trade and Power

Seoul, South Korea

13-14/10/2014

National Advanced Biofuels Conference and Expo

Minneapolis, USA

18-19/10/2014

ICEBWEM 2014 : International Conference on Energy, Biomass, Waste and Environmental Management

Dubai, UAE

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

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