Nicolae Scarlat
EUBCE Technical Programme Chair

“The implementation of the transition towards a low carbon economy requires measures transforming the energy and transport system. Renewable energies are critical for achieving the climate goals, complemented by a rapid phasing out of fossil fuels. In addition to the climate challenges, we are facing now challenges related to high energy prices and the high risk of supply shortages across the EU. This revealed the need to accelerate the green transition and to ensure a cleaner, more secure and resilient energy system. The EC has put forward the REPowerEU plan to phase out Europe’s dependency on Russian fossil fuels imports and fast forward energy transition through measures targeting diversification of energy supplies, accelerated roll-out of renewable energy and energy savings.

Several biomass technologies can play an important role in the decarbonisation of the economy, as part of a circular economy. Biomass offers now several solutions in the energy transition, through a range of technologies to produce energy, sustainable fuels and biobased materials and chemicals. Bioenergy provides flexible and secure low carbon power generation, enabling high shares of variable renewable energies in the electricity grid, such as wind or solar. Bioenergy and carbon capture and storage can play a key role, on short term, in balancing the greenhouse gas emissions for the sectors of the economy that will inevitably remain carbon dependent, as an available industrial-scale solution for achieving negative emissions. Renewable fuels are major elements of the near future and ready solutions for sectors that are hard to decarbonise, in particular the aviation and maritime transport, relying on local sustainable biomass resources and short supply chains. The REPowerEU plan identifies biomethane as key to diversify the EU gas supplies, to reduce imports of natural gas from Russia and decarbonise the gas sector, putting biomethane on top of renewable energy priorities.

I invite you to join the EUBCE 2023 to present and discuss your latest scientific achievements and developments of industrial biomass applications on these areas, in scientific and industry sessions, in plenary, oral and poster sessions and in several side events. As usual, scientific work will receive recognition during EUBCE 2023, through the Linneborn Prize for outstanding contributions to the development of energy from biomass, Student Awards to young scientists or Poster Awards rewarding exceptional visual presentations. During EUBCE, the European Biomass Industry Association gives its annual prize to companies for their effort in supporting biomass development at commercial and industrial level. The Giuliano Grassi Excellence in Biomass Industrial Deployment Prize, established in 2022, will honour scientific, technical or managerial accomplishments in the market deployment of biomass industrial processes. It is especially timely that this major event will be held physically in this challenging time, and I look forward to meeting you all in person in Bologna in June 2023, but also online.”