Tag Archives: European Biogas Association

A successful EBA 10-year anniversary conference

On the 19th of September the 10-year anniversary of the European Biogas Association (EBA) took place at Palais des Académies in Brussels.

The conference was opened by the new president of EBA, Harm Grobrügge. The conference was sold out and there were even people on a waiting list!

It’s evident that EBA is a strong voice in Brussels and that the EU Commission listens to EBA. Representatives from DG ENergy, DG Move and DG AGRI all recognised the work done by EBA and recommended EBA to emphasize the sustainability aspects of biogas (anaerobic digestion) and synthetic methane (gasification and Power -to-gas) and how they contribute to the circular bio-economy and other socio-economic benefits.

Harm and Susanna
Harm Grobrügge, President and Susanna Pflüger, Secretary General, ready to cut the cake. Photo: Jörgen Held

Biogas can be used in many applications but it seems that upgrading of biogas to natural gas quality is attracting most interest. Bruno Sander Nielsen, Danish Biogas Association presented the Danish sucess case and the ambition to completely replace natural gas with renewable gas in 2035-2050.

The discussion became a little bit more louder when energy crops as substrate was mentioned. The food versus fuel discussion seems still to be alive. However, the focus is on intermediate or sequential crops for nutrient management, soil improvement and reduce soil erosion. It’s obvious that both different types of waste and intermediate crops are needed and they don’t exclude each other.

Among many interesting presentations the overview of biomass gasification projects and innovation in Europe by Olivier Guerrini, ENGIE and the role of biomethane in a decarbonised world by Zoltan Elek, Landwärme can be mentioned.

The conference ended with a nice cocktail and light dinner including the tasty anniversary cake.

NBC 2016 take aways

The 6th Nordic Biogas Conference, NBC 2016, took place 7-9 September on the Viking Grace cruiser. The advantages with a LNG powered ship became evident when the cruiser went silently and with clean exhaust gases through the Swedish and the Finnish archipelagos.

Viking_Grace

Approx. 135 participants and 8 exhibitors took part in this biennial event. The main take aways were:

  • The biogas production is increasing in all five Nordic countries.
  • For the first time ever biomethane through gasification and methanation of woody biomass was included in the biogas statistics (GoBiGas contributed with 1 GWh to the Swedish biogas production in 2014).
  • There are several interesting projects related to new substrates. One project focused on the marine organism Ciona and another one on kraft mill fibre sludge.
  • The European Biogas Association stressed the need for a European roadmap for biogas and the possibility for cross-border trading.
  • One presenter emphasized that as long as biogas is a marginal player in the energy system the politicians will not make any substantial committment to promote it.

The presentation by Renewtec on behalf of the European Biogas Association may be the solution to the last bullet point. There are several ways to produce renewable methane besides anaerobic digestion/upgrading. Gasification/methanation and Power-to-gas are two other options. When these three sectors make a joint effort, we will no longer talk about a marginal player but an industry with potential to decarbonize the energy system to a large extent.

Renewtec member of EBA Scientific Advisory Council

The European Biogas Association (EBA) Scientific Advisory Council is a network of researchers, scientists and university teachers dedicated to the promotion of biogas and biomethane.

In 2015 Renewable Energy Technology International AB (Renewtec AB) became a member of the Scientific Advisory Council.

European Biogas Association advocates both anaerobic digestion and thermal gasification and is the voice of biomethane in Europe. For more info take part of EBA´s Vision and mission.

 

 

Renewtec presented bioSNG activities including SmaRTGas in Brussels

On the 3rd of September Jörgen Held was invited to give a presentation on “The present status and future prospects of biomethane production through biomass gasification” at the European Biogas Association’s workshop on biomethane in Brussels.

The SmaRTGas initiative was presented as way forward to accelerate the technology transfer and the implementation of efficient second generation fuel production.

For more info on the workshop click here.

Huge interest for biomethane – EBA workshop fully booked!

On the 3rd of September the European Biogas Association arranges a biomethane workshop in Brussels. The interest for biomethane is huge and the workshop is fully booked!

Renewtec AB is invited to give a speech on “The present status and future prospects of biomethane production through biomass gasification”.

For more details on the workshop http://european-biogas.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Agenda-EBA-biomethane-workshop-13Sep2015.pdf

EUBCE, Europe’s largest biomass conference

The 1-4 of June 23rd European Biomass Conference & Exhibition, EUBCE 2015, took place in Vienna, Austria.

In total 1394 people from 76 countries participated in the conference. Notable was the huge interest for biogas, biomethane and gasification but it’s no surprise since gaseous biofuels have several advantages over solid and liquid biofuels.

Renewtec acted as session chairman for the session “Thermochemical Conversion Processes – Industrial Approach” and represented the European Biogas Association in the  the conference closing cermony.

CLOSING_big

“According to Dr Held, we should not speak about biomethane from AD, biomethane from gasification or from any other technology separately, but about biomethane from renewable resources as a whole, which is a chance for Europe to increase energy security, have cleaner environment and stimulate growth. AD and gasification play together in one team as complimentary technologies.”