WBapr21pgs_SS.qxp_Wood Bioenergy Magazine 3/17/21 2:01 PM Page 18
■ q&a
Europe Focuses
On Biomass EDITOR’S NOTE: Jens Wolf serves as Vice President and General Manager of Europe for Enviva, joining Enviva in January 2020. He is responsible for regulatory engagement and market development in the region, and for managing Enviva’s European team in York, Berlin and London. Wolf brings more than 20 years of experience in the power industry with more than a decade of focus on biomass-derived power and fuel sourcing. He joined Enviva from Drax Group where he was responsible for trading, fuel sourcing, logistics and new fuels development, ultimately serving as commercial director for almost four years. Previously, he served as head of Asset Management and Development, director, with Ørsted A/S (formerly DONG Energy) for five years. At Ørsted, he managed the development of four coal-to-biomass conversion projects and the associated redesign of the fuel supply chain. He began his career in consulting at ICF International and McKinsey & Co. Wolf holds a M.Sc. in Economics from Copenhagen University and speaks Danish and Spanish fluently, among other languages. Wolf agreed to answer several questions posed by the editors of Wood Bioenergy. WB: Speculate on 10 years from now, where Europe might be with regard to wood biomass heating and electricity as part of its infrastructure? Wolf: The future of biomass is very promising with substantial growth opportunities for the industry and a broader energy sector. In the short term, woody biomass is a viable alternative in industrial and combined heat and power (CHP) applications. Wood pellets offer a reliable, dispatchable, carbon-neutral replacement to coal- and gas-fired boilers and furnaces in heavy industries such as steel, cement and other applications where high temperatures are needed. Further down the road, when surplus solar and wind could potentially be used to create hydrogen at scale, there will be an exciting opportunity to produce aviation and other fuels with carbon capture of biomass that could result in even fewer net greenhouse gas emissions. WB: Looking back 10 years as the new generation of wood energy came forward to the present, how would you describe the influx of biomass power in Europe? Wolf: Over the last decade there has been a large increase in the demand for wood bioenergy. In fact, the use of bioenergy has more than doubled since 2000 as a result of its enduse as heat, transportation and electricity. As more and more countries take aggressive action toward mitigating climate change, the demand for sustainably sourced biomass is expected to increase. For example, last year we saw the United Kingdom completing a record-breaking 67-day period without burning coal. That’s the longest the UK has been without coal since the dawn of the industrial revolution and it could not have been possible without biomass. With the implementation of innovative negative emissions technologies on the horizon, such as BECCS (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage), opportunities for biomass as an essential generating resource will become standard. 18
Wood Bioenergy / April 2021
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