Sustainable International Bioenergy Trade - Securing Supply and Demand

Task:	40
Start:	01/01/2010; End: 31/12/2012
Web:	www.bioenergytrade.org
Countries:	Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, UK, and the USA.

Task Leadership

Leader
Mr Andre Faaij (Scentific)
Copernicus Institute / Utrecht University
Budapestlaan 6, NL - 3584 CD
UTRECHT
The Netherlands

Email: A.Faaij@chem.uu.nl
Tel: +31-30-2537643
Fax: +31-30-2537601

Leader
Mr Peter-Paul Schouwenberg (Administration)
Senior Officer Regulatory Affairs-Corporate Affairs
Essent
Willemsplein 4
5211 AK 's-Hertogenbosch

Email: Peter-Paul.Schouwenberg@essent.nl
Tel: +31 (0)6 11513528 (mobile)

Assistant to Task Leader
Dr Martin Junginger
Copernicus Institute, Section E&R
Van Unnikgebouw
Heidelberglaan 2
NL-3584 CS UTRECHT
The Netherlands

Email: h.m.junginger@uu.nl
Tel: +31-(0)30-2537613
Fax: +31(0)30-2537601

Task Secretary
Chun Sheng Goh

Email: C.S.Goh@uu.nl

Objectives

*Objectives and scope*
Clearly, the strongly growing demand for biomass and biofuels make clear that there is a growing need to develop biomass resources and exploit biomass production potentials in a sustainable way and to understand what this means in different settings. In some markets, prices of biomass resources and fuels are already rising, including indirect effects on price of raw material prices for e.g. the forest industry as well as on food (e.g. sugar). Biomass markets are still immature and this is in particular true for the demand side of the market; many biomass markets, e.g. for solid fuels, rely on policy objectives and incentives, that prove to be volatile.

It is particularly important to develop both supply and demand for biomass and energy carriers derived from biomass in a balanced way and avoid distortions and instability that can threaten investments in biomass production, infrastructure and conversion capacity. Our understanding of how this is best organised and managed needs further improvement. International biomass markets have been mapped by Task 40, but to date available analyses, statistics and modelling exercises still have limitations

The core objective of the Task remains:’to support the development of a sustainable, international, bioenergy market, recognising the diversity in resources, biomass applications’

Developing the sustainable and stable, international, bioenergy market is a long-term process. The Tasks aims to provide a vital contribution to such (policy making) decisions in the coming years for market players, policy makers, international bodies as well as NGO’s. It aims to do so by providing high quality information and analyses, providing overviews of developments, be a linking pin between different arenas involved in the debate, a clearinghouse for information and by targeted dissemination activities.

Key elements of the work programme and outputs
Objective 1: biomass supplies: To deliver refined insights in availability and potential production and supply of biomass resources on regional, national and global level. This explicitly includes a range of biomass residue streams, land use, and competition for land and on various markets worldwide (i.c. including developing regions). This objective is in particular to be tackled by inter-task collaboration.
For Task 40 the focus will lay on development of supplies at large in relation to various drivers (demand development, improvements in production and logistics) and barriers (e.g. lack of investment, sustainability concerns).

Objective 2: Sustainability and certification: To determine how the sustainability of biomass supplies, use and trade can be secured optimally and efficiently, in particular from a market perspective, with specific attention for the impacts of certification/verification on international biomass and biofuels trade.

Objective 3: trade, market and demand dynamics: To map and provide an integral overview of biomass markets and trade on global level, as well as for specific regions, identify and map new markets and products (such as Jathropha oil, demand from industry, heating markets, biorefining and future 2nd generation biofuels production). Improve the understanding on how biomass trade and markets respond to fluctuating (fossil) energy prices, developments on global markets for food and forestry products, emission trading, and policies of different countries. Specific attention is paid to the balance between demand and supply aspects versus structures, institutions, drivers, technologies, etc. influencing demand and how to organise biomass trade under uncertainties observed in the market.

Objective 4: transport, Logistics, and trade: Provide (further) insights in international biomass supply lines and logistic requirements (including new producing regions, i.e. developing countries and Eastern Europe) and these can be optimised over time. This includes increasing our understanding on how costs of biomass production, pre-treatment and transport can be reduced over time, e.g. through better organisation and applying more efficient technology. Such work includes advanced forecasting exercises on required logistic capacity to facilitate increased biomass use and trade.

Objective 5: Outreach and dissemination: High quality dissemination; the Task is to provide a key international platform (with a diverse range of stakeholders) for bioenergy trade and markets (covering supply and demand, sustainability, financial products etc.). Findings of the Task are translated in analysis and advice for industry and entrepreneurs, policy makers and other stakeholders (such as NGO’s).

It aims to do so by delivering high quality information and analyses, providing overviews of developments, be a linking pin between different arena’s involved in the debate, a clearinghouse for information and by targeted dissemination activities. Opportunities for industry and research partnerships are specifically sought after, aiming to more networking type events to draw in business.

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