Mission Statement
The mission of the European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBTP) is to contribute to the development of cost-competitive, world-class biofuels technologies, to the creation of a healthy biofuels industry and to accelerate the deployment of sustainable biofuels in the European Union through a process of guidance, prioritisation and promotion of research, technology development and industrial demonstration.
Dear EBTP Stakeholder,
Spring 2012 represents a time of growth and development for the European Biofuels Technology Platform, which continues to shift its focus from R&D to commercial deployment of advanced biofuels.
Industrial scale plants are now under construction in Europe, including the UPM wood-to-biodiesel plant using crude tall oil in Lappeenranta, Finland, the Fortum fast pyrolysis bio-oil plant at the Joensuu CHP facility, and the Mossi & Ghisolfi Group (M&G) (Chemtex) cellulosic ethanol plant in Crescentino, Italy.
These projects demonstrate the potential for advanced biofuels to play a leading role in the growing European bioeconomy, creating thousands of new jobs, and facilitating the transition to low-carbon transport in Europe. The EBTP supports the Strategy for a Sustainable European Bioeconomy proposed by the European Commission in February 2012 to shift the European economy towards greater and more sustainable use of renewable resources and processes (for food, feed, energy and industry).
Cost-competitive and consistent supply of sustainable feedstocks is essential to facilitate the growth of the bioeconomy, and the EBTP has started a process of cooperation with the Renewable Heating and Cooling Technology Platform on joint strategies for meeting biomass demand.
As a first step, a workshop “Biomass supply challenges: How to meet demand by 2020?” was held in Rotterdam on 15 March 2012 in cooperation with World Biofuels Markets 2012. We thank all stakeholders who particpated in this very successful event.
There have also been internal developments within the EBTP this Spring with with two newly elected Vice-chairs and one re-elected Vice-chair, as well as proposals to further integrate policy and sustainability as key crosscutting issues across all Working Groups.
The EBTP is looking forward to a busy summer for advanced biofuels in Europe and wishes all stakeholders a fruitful year ahead.
Lars Hansen
Chair, Steering Committee, European Biofuels Technology Platform
Welcome to new EBTP Steering Commitee Vice-Chairs
The EBTP is pleased to announce that Markku Karlsson (Finnish Forestry Industries Federation) will continue as a Vice-Chair of the Steering Committee, and we welcome two new Vice-Chairs: Ingvar Landälv (Chemrec) and Sandrine-Dixson-Declève (The Prince of Wales's EU Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change and Brussels Office, University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership). The three Vice-chairs were elected at the 25th Steering Committee Meeting in February 2012 and commence their positions with immediate effect. We would like to thank the outgoing Vice-chairs, René van Ree and Anders Röj, for their hard work and support for the EBTP over several years.
Updates on selected Member State activites in advanced biofuels demonstration and deployment
The 25th Steering Committee Meeting was held at the European Forestry House in Brussels on 27th February. Updates on biofuels activities across the Member States were presented. In Finland, construction has started on an industrial scale pyrolysis plant (Fortum) and a wood to biodiesel plant (UPM) as detailed in the editorial above. The Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation is donating approx. €15m for a new platform which brings together Denmark’s leading players within the sustainable use of biomass, and provides a framework for joint R&D activities for the production of building blocks for chemicals and bio-based fuels for the global shipping industry. The construction of the bioliq gasification plant in Karlsruhe and the Gruppo M&G cellulosic ethanol plant in Crescentino, Italy are both progressing well. The BioDME demonstration in Sweden is moving forward at full speed. And BDI-BioEnergy International AG is commissioning a pilot plant on BtL in Austria. However, most Member States are facing challenges with funding and support for advanced bioenergy projects, due to the wider economic environment in the EU.
Update on EBTP Working Groups
WG1 will continue its cooperation with other ETPs and stakeholders to establish join strategies on biomass supply and demand (as outlined below).
WG2 is pursuing joint actions with the newly published SRAs of various other ETPs, and is enhancing and revising the drafts of the biofuels fact sheets, with 'consultation drafts' having been published on the EBTP website. Please feel free to send your comments on the current draft fact sheets. Topics for new fact sheets are also being discussed and all suggestions are welcome.
The Chair of WG3, Jukka-Pekka Nieminen has stepped down, and the EBTP thanks him for his valuable contribution to the working group and the platform as a whole in recent months. Henrik Landälv, Vice-Chair of WG3, has taken responsibily for WG3 ad interim and has initiated the search for a replacement.
Sustainability and policy are of increasing importance to all aspects of advanced biofuel value chains from feedstock availability and conversion to marketing of end products. To reflect this, the SC suggested that the work of WG4 (sustainability) and WG5 (markets and policy) could be more tightly integrated, for example on activities such as:
- ILUC follow-up, once the Impact Assessment and possible accompanying EC legislative proposal is published,
- the Commission 2012 report on RED implementation,
- the FQD (Fuel Quality Directive), and
- stakeholders feedback on the renewable energy strategy post 2020.
The EBTP Secretariat is currently consulting on the best way to bring together these joint WG activities
The EBTP continues to help shape the European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative in close collaboration with the European Commission and Member States.
The 2012 European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative Conference will be held by the European Commission in Brussels on 5th June 2012. The aim of the conference is to make the EIBI better known to the various biofuels stakeholders. Stakeholders along the whole biofuels value chains will be invited to attend the conference. Details will be published on the EBTP website as soon as they are available. Registration will begin in early May.
An analsysis report on the Outcome of the Call for Expression of Interest carried out by the EIBI Team is now available. Over half of EoIs submitted met the criteria for EIBI support (or will do so in the very near future). The results of the EoI call will serve as a basis for discussion with the European Investment Bank for funding of flagship plants and also for ongoing internal discussions on funding.
The joint workshop of the Renewable Heating and Cooling Technology Platform (Biomass Technology Panel) and the European Biofuels Technology Platform (Working Group 1 “Biomass”) was held in Rotterdam, March 15th in co-operation with World Biomass Markets 2012. Presentations were made on biomass demand in different sectors - biofuels, heating and cooling, and utilities. Stakeholders discussed the potential volumes of biomass that could be supplied in and to Europe, and how sustainability regulations may influence biomass markets in future.
The main aims of this workshop were to identify the need for solid biomass in the different key markets and to understand where issues may show up in future, to foster synergies between different stakeholders, and establish industrial views on biomass competition. A key outcome of the workshop will be the joint drafting of research priorities for biomass supply challenges, with production of a joint Road Map anticipated by next year.
The platform would like to thank all stakeholders and speakers who contributed to a very stimulating and productive event.
The strategy Innovating for sustainable growth: A Bioeconomy for Europe (post 2013), published by the Euorpean Commission in February 2012, proposes to shift the European economy towards greater and more sustainable use of renewable resources and processes (for food, feed, energy and industry). The strategy calls for improved coordination and increased activity through the Common Agricultural Policy and the Horizon 2020 research programme, along with other EU and national programmes.
The EBTP welcomes the publication of the bioeconomy strategy for its emphasis on investing in research and retaining Europe’s competitive edge in sustainable technology.
The bioeconomy strategy emphasises the importance of innovation and research to lift agricultural efficiency while conserving water and other natural resources. The Horizon 2020 programme envisages €4.7 billion could be utilized for research and demonstration of innovative technology for sustainable agriculture, the maritime sector and the bioeconomy (including biofuels).
View the Bioeconomy strategy document
In addition to the collaboration with the RHC European Technology Platform on biomass supply and demand (detailed above) , the Joint Task Force of ZEP (Zero Emissions Platform) and EBTP is continuing its work on finalising a discussion document on Bio-CCS. The lastest meeting of the Bio-CCS JTF was held on 16 March 2012.
An important focus of group discussion is how to account for negative CO2 emissions resulting from the combination of sustainably produced biomass and CCS. Under the EU ETS, there is currently no incentive for capturing CO2 from bioethanol production, even though this potentially offers one of the most cost-effective ways for implementing CO2 capture.
28-29 November 2011 – SET-Plan Conference, Warsaw, Poland
Markku Karlsson (SC) made a presentation “Introduction to the EIBI” and Mona-Maria Brinker (Secretariat) represented EBTP
23-24 January 2012 – Fuels of the Future, Berlin, Germany
Birger Kerckow and Mona-Maria Brinker (both Secretariat) represented EBTP
27 February 2012 – 25th Steering Committee Meeting of the European Biofuels Technology Platform, Brussels, Belgium
Steering Committee, representatives and observers
28 February-01 March 2012 - Advanced biofuels in a biorefinery approach, Copenhagen, Denmark
Anders Röj (SC) represented EBTP
13-15 March 2012 – World Biofuels Markets and Exhibition, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Markku Karlsson (SC), Birger Kerckow and Mona-Maria Brinker (both Secretariat) represented EBTP
15 March 2012 – Combined RHC TP and EBTP Workshop on biomass supply challenges, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Led by Calliope Panoutsou (WG1) and Markku Karlsson (SC, WG1), with participation by other WG members and stakeholders.
Links and details for the following biofuels and bioenergy events are included on the events page of the EBTP website. Please check regularly as new events are added each week.
16-19 April – International Biomass Conference and Expo
Denver, USA
17-18 April – Partnering for Sustainable Innovation through Chemistry
Brussels, Belgium
23-25 April – Nordic Biogas Conference 2012
Copenhagen, Denmark
29-31 May – World Bioenergy 2012 Conference and Exhibition
Jönköping, Sweden
5 June – European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative Conference
Brussels, Belgium
13-14 June – European Biodiesel Summit
Krakow, Poland
13-14 June – 5th tailor-made fuel from biomass, international workshop
Aachen, Germany
18-22 June – 20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Milan, Italy
25-27 June - 3rd AEBIOM European Bioenergy Conference 2012
Brussels, Belgium
27-31 August 2012 - Bioenergy from Forest - Conference and Exhibition
Jyväskylä and Jämsä, Finland
26-27 September 2012 - Lignofuels 2012
Stockholm, Sweden
Links to a number of new biofuels reports have been added to the EBTP Reports Database in recent weeks. Links to biofuels presentations are also included on relevant pages of the EBTP website. Examples include:
Biomass/feedstocks
Energy from biomass: the size of the global resource. An assessment of the evidence that biomass can make a major contribution to future global energy supply
UK Energy Research Council UKERC
Technology
Technology Map 2011 of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan)
JRC
End use
Infrastructure for alternative fuels
European Export Group on Future Transport
Sustainability
Workshop on biofuels and indirect land use change - proceedings
European Parliament, DG Internal Policies – Department A: Economic and Scientific
Policy & Markets
Technical Assessment of the Renewable Energy Action Plans
EC Joint Research Centre (JRC)
International biodiesel markets - Development in production and trade
ufop & Ecofys