Plenary sessions preview

This plenary session will address the development of maintenance of sustainable value chains for biomass and its utilisation in the emerging bioeconomy.

The first presentation looks at the growth of a bioeconomy without borders and assesses the environmental footprint of EU27. The study upon which the presentation has been prepared uses 2022 as a reference year and considers the EU’s environmental footprint, including impacts both inside and outside the EU and focusing on GHG emissions, land use change (LUC) emissions, land use, and scarcity-weighted water use, all using an environmentally extended multi-regional input-output (EE-MRIO) model. From the model, both production- and consumption-based impacts to capture global supply chain pressures were quantified.

The next presentation considers advancing Public Perception and Social Acceptance for Socially Sustainable Bio-based Refinery Intermediates. The presentation examines how lessons from the Horizon 2020 BioMates project on social acceptance and public perception can inform the ongoing ABATE initiative, and the importance of trust, transparency, and fairness in public support. From the initial findings, ABATE applies an integrated approach using stakeholder consultation to assess how social acceptance can be strengthened.

The study demonstrates that linking social insights with technological development promotes socially sustainable innovation aligned with environmental goals and public expectations within the European bioeconomy.

The final presentation addresses sustainability certification pathways for emerging low iLUC feedstocks with an emphasis on policy and certification insights coming from the CARINA European Project which focussed on integrating oil-seed crops into diversified farming systems. The supply of low iLUC-risk feedstocks for the circular bioeconomy involves innovative cropping strategies, without displacing food crops. Camelina and carinata offer promising low indirect land-use change potentials, but require coherent governance, certification, and policy support for sustainable scale-up. The work contributes to the development of robust Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) frameworks and explores the integration of carbon farming and sustainable carbon cycles into certification systems.

This plenary session addresses and models the availability, quality, and optimal use of wood as a biomass resource, and includes biomass crop potentials in the EU, cascading of wood use in a sustainable bioeconomy and low-ILUC industrial biomass crops.

In the first presentation, biomass from intermediate crops is among the newly added biofeedstocks for producing advance biofuels in the amended REDIII Annex IX. In this contribution insights in all current and future factors that determine the eventual biomass potential from intermediate crops are considered. The selection of crops most suitable to become an intermediate crop addresses climatic suitability (now and expected climate change by 2050), simulated crop yield, environmental performance and TRL level. Identification of current and future land availability is particularly dependent on rotational fallow land availability and expected land use changes in agricultural land under influence of market developments and policies (EGD and CAP) as well as climate change and expected competing land use claims. Results show that biomass production is significantly higher for intermediate crops added to existing crop rotations in the summer season then in the winter season.

The second presentation covers the central role of wood in the bioeconomy by sequestering CO2 in woody biomass, storing carbon in materials, and substituting fossil resources. However, a systemic understanding of wood use across the value chain is essential to support bio-based development and accelerating progress toward net-zero goals. Cascading use of wood is critical in this strategy, repurposed or recycled multiple times before final energy recovery. Building on previous material flow analysis (MFA) of the Swiss wood value chain, a method was developed for scenario development that matches wood flows with applications based on quality and functional requirements. Three material-first scenarios were constructed, for cellulose, biochar, and fibre- and particle-boards, to quantify biomass demand, identify trade-offs, and explore how these materials can extend the lifespan of wood in the technosphere.

The final presentation in this session considers the cultivation of industrial crops on marginal land as a way of minimizing land use competition. Nineteen different biomass-to-product pathways were selected in the framework of the European MIDAS project, including Safflower, Lavender, Siberian Elm, Poplar, Switchgrass, Castor, Sorghum, Hemp, Guayule, Cardoon, Miscanthus, Crambe, as well as cropping systems (intercropping and agroforestry), in different regions of Europe. The work enabled identification of potential limitations associated with the cultivation of these industrial crops in marginal soils. Crop management options were assessed, including use of innovative farming systems (e.g. intercropping, agroforestry, harvesting solutions, irrigation systems, soil amendments), amount of fertilizers and pesticides applied, irrigation needs. Impacts were assessed in terms of biomass yields, impact on soil, water and biodiversity.

This plenary session addresses the broad question of integration of technologies in bioenergy value chains.

The first presentation covers some of the work of IEA Bioenergy Task 44, namely the underrepresentation of flexible bioenergy in energy system models and policy frameworks. Through conceptual development, technology assessment, best practice documentation, and policy recommendations, the Task demonstrates how integration of bioenergy technologies can lead to enhanced system reliability and reduce costs while supporting decarbonization. Results include a comprehensive technology portfolio, real-world case studies, and modelling evidence showing significant economic and reliability benefits. The Task reframes bioenergy’s role from a cost-effective renewable to a systems integrator, offering tools and strategies to unlock its full potential in future-proof energy systems.

The second presentation demonstrates that the development and commercialization of new technologies is rarely a straightforward process from idea to execution. Markets and Science rarely line up so simply as to provide a singular path forward, so that as a new technology moves through the TRL index, it is critical that a strategic and commercial mindset is retained, and that the weight of these considerations is increased the closer to commercialization a technology proceeds.

The SixRing platform has brought to market a new and differentiated process to valorize lignocellulosic biomass, and with it, the potential to deliver compelling alternatives beyond just biomass combustion. Over a period of more than 5 years, SixRing has retained an appropriate balance between the science-first process of discovery of the chemistry and initial products and the business-first process of market options and investigation, competitor analysis and risk-adjusted economic screening.

The third presentation covers the implementation of UPM’s lignocellulosic biorefinery for the production of sustainable chemicals and materials. The presentation provides a deep dive into the process configuration of UPM’s Leuna plant in Germany which will create bio-based drop-in alternatives to chemicals and materials currently produced from fossil raw materials offering high-quality, low carbon solutions for packaging, textiles, thermoplastics, resins, rubber and many other applications.

A comparison of the selected technologies with pulp mills will be also introduced as well as possible applications of the products and their outstanding properties, which go beyond mere substitution possibilities, will be discussed.