Biomass Supply

Workplan

Task 43 – 2019-2021 Workplan

Objective

Through deployment, application and management of best practice in technology and economic systems in integrated biomass production and supply chains systems this task aims to:

  • Develop, refine, compare and promote sustainable integrated land management strategies that contribute to increased, competitive biomass mobilisation through engaged stakeholder groups in existing and emerging agriculture and forestry lignocellulosic systems.
  • Develop, refine, compare and promote innovative biomass supply chain and logistics systems through engaged stakeholder groups that more efficiently recover and deliver more high-quality biomass for multiple products and markets including bioenergy.
  • Explore emerging bioeconomy supply chain and logistics systems to develop integrated solutions for the production and supply of more high-quality biomass.
  • Foster international collaboration and shared views on strategies to increase the quantity, quality, value, and reliability of biomass supply and logistics.

Deliverables

The Task will produce and provide timely and policy-relevant information to targeted audiences, arrange Task-specific events, contribute to important workshops and conferences, and engage in processes that are identified as important in shaping the conditions for biomass supply chain and logistics systems. Scientific publications, policy-relevant reviews, case studies and science and technology briefs on a variety of topics will be published and presented throughout the triennium.

Management

The Task Leader and WP Leaders together with the NTLs constitute the Steering Committee (SC) that approves plans and budgets associated with task activities. The SC builds international and national capacities essential to have credibility in the various biomass supply chain and logistics systems sectors. Task 43 collaborates with other Tasks in intertask projects to integrate biomass supply chain and logistics with energy conversion and end-use, ensuring that analytical and conceptual linkages with markets are strong.

Work scope for the Task period 2019-2021

The Task will explore technical and economic strategies to increase the quantity of biomass available, improve the quality of the biomass delivered for different energy purposes, and explore strategies to increase the value and foster confidence in biomass supply, for both direct and cascade use of biomass for bioenergy.  The task will work exclusively with terrestrial biomass sources including residues, by-product or co-product production from forest and agriculture production systems; residues, by-products or co-products from bio-based manufacturing industries; cellulosic biomass from post-consumer waste; as well as dedicated biomass crop systems as part of broader land management strategies. The Task focus will be on the production and supply of biomass feedstock for energy leading to value creation within the broader context of bioeconomy.

Work programme

The two work packages represent the two key focus areas that both feed to common overarching objectives of supporting the reliable production and supply of more, high-quality biomass towards a profitable bioeconomy that meets an increasing demand for bioenergy.

The two work packages are:

WP1 – Biomass production systems for sustainable bioenergy within the bioeconomy

Even with the significant increase in bioenergy deployment over the past decade, a majority of biomass production for bioenergy still comes as a residue or co-product of other resource production systems like forestry and agriculture. With primary land management decisions being driven by food, fibre and construction material products from the biomass resources, integration of production strategies to increase the quantity, quality and value of biomass for bioenergy or other more recent end uses have not been extensively explored. This will include both moderate but also substantial modifications of current production systems including primary production.

WP1 themes and activities:

  1. Exploration of strategies to integrate innovated biomass crops to leverage and expand existing residue and co-product supply chains;
  2. Explore and improve knowledge on the scale and scope of different biomass crops that can economically service a given bioenergy market/demand.
  3. Develop improved knowledge of the socioeconomic values of biomass crops as a part of a local, regional and national renewable energy strategies.
  4. Explore, in collaboration with other tasks the key drivers of sustainability for biomass crops and supply chains.

Work Package 1 Leader:

Biljana Kulisic

Energy Institute Hrvoje Pozar;
Department for RES, EE and Environmental Protection
Savska 163, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Phone: +385 1 6326169
Email: bkulisic@eihp.hr

WP2 – Integrated supply chain and logistics for sustainable bioenergy within the bioeconomy

Achieving deployment of competitive and sustainable biomass supply chains integrated with traditional forest and agriculture supply chains as well as emerging bioproduct supply chains requires the effective application of technology and systems to provide improved integration, increased efficiency and reduced supply chain costs. The transition of energy markets offers new opportunities for bioenergy, especially in
terms of prosumers and biorefineries. The technologies and systems need to be properly planned, managed and deployed to deliver increased quantities of higher quality biomass for bioenergy in a value-driven bioeconomy. This requires a good understanding of the roles of actors along supply chains and their capabilities to reliably increase the quantity of high quality and value biomass for bioenergy. This work package aims to identify opportunities, strategies and practices for improved supply chains and supply chain technology to support increasing quantity and quality of biomass for bioenergy in a profitable bioeconomy.

WP2 themes and activities:

  1. With technology Tasks within IEA Bioenergy and existing bioenergy projects within participation countries explore and define, in an applied sense, what influences the quality of biomass supply for
    the different bioenergy technologies.
  2. Working with existing commercial biomass supply chains within participation countries the key limiting phase and/or technology will be identified, and the aspects that influence that phase or
    technology will be explored.
  3. Opportunities to economically extend the range of biomass supply chains through new and emerging biomass technology.
  4. The role of pre-processing or pre-treatment of biomass at different points in the supply chain will be explored to increase the value and quality of biomass for given technologies.

Work Package 2 Leader:

Évelyne Thiffault
Département des sciences du bois et de la forêt, Université Laval
2405 rue de la Terrasse, Pavillon Abitibi-Price
Université Laval, Québec (QC), G1V 0A6 Canada

Phone: +
Email: Evelyne.Thiffault@sbf.ulaval.ca