Online Workshop on Sustainable Biomass Availability and Mobilisation
How can sustainable biomass resources be mobilised at the scale required to support global net zero ambitions?
This question was at the centre of the IEA Bioenergy Workshop Sustainable Biomass Availability and Mobilisation, held online on 17 June 2026, including two equal sessions to accommodate participants from different parts of the world. The workshop brought together experts from the International Energy Agency (IEA), FAO’s Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP), and the IEA Bioenergy network to explore future biomass availability, mobilisation strategies and the research priorities needed to support an expanding bioeconomy.
Sustainable availability of biomass for energy and materials – whether being from forestry, agriculture, or wastes and residues from industry or municipalities – is often questioned as it is considered a limited resource. At the same time, also sustainable mobilisation is viewed as complex, as biomass is often dispersed available, both in location and in time during the seasons, and the various end use applications also required specific characteristics for the input feedstock, that requires different handling, logistics and possible pretreatment steps. Securing sustainable biomass mobilisation is elementary for the permanency of operations, while at the same time economic focus needs to be considered as well.
Yet, currently, and also projected for the near future, biomass is and will be an important contributing energy source to the increase of renewable energy deployment, next to other renewable energy sources such as wind energy, solar energy, hydro power and geothermal energy. On top of that, in non-energy end-use functions biobased materials are foreseen to replace fossil carbon-based products or energy intense materials, while enabling long term storage of carbon in materials.
The IEA International Energy Agency in its 2025 World Energy Outlook, in the Stated Policies Scenario sketched that the deployment of modern bioenergy might increase from ~40 EJ in 2024 to ~75 EJ by 2050. Current world energy demand is above 500 EJ, and expected to grow to 700-750, depending on the scenario’s IEA explored, for 2035 and beyond.
Key messages
A key message from the workshop was that biomass remains an essential component of global decarbonisation pathways. According to the IEA’s 2025 World Energy Outlook, modern bioenergy deployment could grow from around 40 EJ today to approximately 75 EJ by 2050. Importantly, biomass is expected to contribute across multiple sectors, including industry, transport, buildings and the production of bio-based materials.
Participants highlighted that the challenge is increasingly shifting from simply estimating biomass potential to understanding how sustainable biomass can be effectively mobilised. While global assessments suggest substantial biomass resources exist, regional variations in availability, environmental impacts, logistics and market structures will strongly influence future deployment pathways.
The workshop reinforced that sustainability considerations must extend beyond greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy targets. Future biomass systems will need to simultaneously support food and feed production, maintain biodiversity, protect soil health, strengthen rural communities and contribute to broader environmental objectives.
Several discussions focused on the importance of adopting a systems perspective. Participants noted that future assessments should better account for fossil-constrained scenarios, regional supply chain dynamics and the interactions between biomass, energy, materials and carbon management systems. There was strong support for complementing global modelling approaches with bottom-up regional analyses to better understand practical mobilisation opportunities and constraints.
A recurring theme was the need to broaden the narrative from “bioenergy” to “biogenic carbon”. Sustainable biomass provides a renewable carbon resource that can support the production of fuels, chemicals, materials and energy while enabling long-term carbon storage and circular economy outcomes. Improving carbon efficiency across these interconnected systems was identified as an important future research priority.
Workshop conclusions
The workshop concluded that sustainable biomass resources can make a significant contribution to global climate and energy goals, but realising this potential will require continued innovation in resource mobilisation, supply chain design, sustainability assessment and policy development. These insights will help inform future activities across the IEA Bioenergy network as it advances research supporting the transition to a sustainable, circular and low-carbon bioeconomy.
Downloads
The programme of the workshop
Mr. Paolo Frankl, Head of Renewable Unit, International Energy Agency, Contribution of modern bioenergy for 2050
Dr. Tiziana Pirelli, Coordinator of the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) “FAO approaches to advance sustainable bioenergy. Case studies and lessons learned.”
Jing Huo, ETH Zürich, “Availability and Impacts of Biomass Residues: Global Insights and Swiss Perspectives”
Adrien de Courcelles, Biomass, ADEME, “Which biomass resources for which uses in France?”
Wolter Elbersen, Wageningen University and Research, “From biomass availability to biomass mobilisation. Understanding how biomass mobilisation works”
Ric Hoefnagels, University Utrecht / Damon Hartley, Idaho National Laboratory, “Connecting regional biomass with biorefinery markets – the role of novel decentralised supply chain strategies”
