19th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
 
By Betty Yan and Paul Kilpatrick
 
The 19^th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition took place from June 6 to June 10, 2011 in Berlin, Germany, featuring scientific inquiry along with an industry exhibition highlighting the latest in biomass products. The annual conference brought together over 1500 delegates from 67 countries to discuss the state of the biomass industry and its advancement. Some of the countries leading biomass development and represented at the conference included Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK, Austria, France,Spain, the USA, and Canada.
 
Participants from across the international biomass community, from research institutions and biomass sector businesses to policy makers, networked at the Conference through 262 interactive presentations and 540 poster presentations. Delegates discussed and shared the latest information about the state of biomass technology and collaborated to shape future development targets.[1]
 
What is biomass energy?
 
Biomass is renewable non-fossil fuel biological material produced from living or recently deceased organisms in gaseous, liquid or solid form and found in agricultural and forest by-products, industrial and household waste, and other organic matter that often go to waste. Wood pellets, grass clippings, canola seeds, plant cellulose, vegetable oils, algae, hydrogen gas, alcohol fuels, and even sewage sludge and animal manure are examples of materials that can be sources of biomass energy (also referred to as bioenergy or biofuel). Biomass energy is primarily derived from these materials when they are burned for fuel.  In most situations it can be sourced locally and can therefore reduce both financial and environmental transportation and transmission costs associated with other forms of energy.   Currently inCanada biomass energy accounts for approximately 35% of the country’s energy consumption, with a large portion of that being supplied and consumed by the forestry industry.[2]
 
How does biomass energy differ from fossil fuel energy?
 
Bioenergy is a distinct from fossil fuel energy because it is renewable and because of the time required to produce it.   Although biomass and fossil fuels both obtain their embodied energy from the sun, fossil fuels originate from ancient biomass that has been altered by geological processes over thousands of years into hydrocarbons like coal or petroleum. Fossil fuels contain carbon that has been absent from the carbon cycle for a long time, so fossil fuel combustion disrupts the carbon balance by re-introducing massive amounts of sequestered carbon back into the environment[3], whereas biomass energy releases carbon which is already in the carbon system and may be considered carbon neutral.
 
However it’s not all roses as there are also many challenges associated with bioenergy, including the costs of growing and harvesting biomass feedstock[4]; potentially accelerated release of carbon and other gases into the atmosphere that could impact the carbon cycle and ozone layer (if biomass is not first converted into other forms of fuel); and the energy input required to convert biomass feedstock into other forms of fuel.
 
Biomass Conference highlights
 
This year’s premium bio-energy event opened with international experts addressing the growing role of biomass as an energy source in a low carbon economy, with discussions focused on topics like the second generation of biomass fuel, a growing interest in the production of algae as a bioenergy feedstock, and bioenergy issues in Europe.
 
Several notable projects that aim to use algae as biofuel feedstock and create algae culture facilities across Europe were highlighted. One project, led by a leading Swedish power company called Vattenfall, revealed plans to reduce their CO2 emissions by nearly 30% by 2020 through the use of biomass. Vattenfall already uses more than 3 million tons of biomass a year to produce energy in over 40 of their power and heat facilities. 
 
Also discussed were the implications to the biomass sector with Germany’s recent ambitious decision to phase-out nuclear power entirely by 2022 and replace it with renewable green energy sources like wind, solar, and biomass, along with reducing energy demand[5]. Germany’s energy strategy and aggressive timeline for phasing out nuclear energy creates urgency for viable alternatives and thus fertile ground for innovation and advancement of bioenergy technology to help meet the country’s energy needs.  Jochen Flasbart, President of the Federal Environment Agency of Germany says, “We can cover the electrical demand with renewable energies in Germany by 2050”.[6]
 
With an increasing demand for energy globally combined with a finite supply of fossil fuels and the threat of climate change, gatherings like the Biomass Conference take on greater importance as the need for renewable energy alternatives like biomass continues to grow. Chairman of the Biomass Conference, Prof. Dr.-Ing Martin Faulstich stated, “Biomass is a renewable raw material with diverse applications. Biomass as safe and reliable energy source can contribute to solve two of the most important challenges humanity is facing: climate change and energy supply. The decisive advantage is the neutral CO2 balance, if biomass is used in an environmentally sustainable way.”[7]  The implementation and development of biomass as a green energy source is well underway and leading countries are optimistically ambitious about its viability as an alternative to fossil fuels.