IEA Bioenergy Webinar – Future Prospects for Wood Pellet Markets

13 Nov 2019
Webinars

  • Moderator: Uwe R. Fritsche Task Leader, IEA Bioenergy Task 40 Co-Leader, IEA Bioenergy Task 45 Scientific Director International Institute for Sustainability Analysis and Strategy Germany

  • Chenlin Li Senior Research Scientist Idaho National Laboratory United States of America

  • Ric Hoefnagels Assistant Professor Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development Utrecht University Netherlands

  • Fabian Schipfer Senior Researcher Energy Economics Group Technische Universität Wien Austria

  • Olle Olsson Research Fellow Stockholm Environment Institute Sweden

This webinar presents the findings of the report on the Future Prospects for Wood Pellet Markets.  Wood pellets are well-established in residential heat and large-scale industrial (power) markets, and existing supply can deliver wood pellets at reasonable prices. Yet, given the competition with other renewables (solar, wind), and building efficiency in the longer-term, wood pellet markets are under price pressure, and actually could shrink in the near future,  specially for co-firing in powerplants.

The report showed that:

  • further technology development can reduce wood pellet costs along (international) supply chains significantly, and
  • can broaden the feedstock base to low-cost material (e.g. bagasse, wood wastes), while
  • torrefaction can, compared to traditional white pellets, improve energy, GHG and cost performance of long-distance supply, allowing for widespread applications.

In case studies, future options for pellets were explored (high-temperature industrial heat, steelmaking, BECCS/U), and it was shown that potential exists there, allowing to help achieving the Paris Agreements and the SDGs, especially if adequate CO2  prices are introduced in energy markets.

Click here to view webinar including discussion and questions – https://youtu.be/oF6Zs235Bg4

Download presentation Webinar_Wood Pellets_Combined_Slides_11.13.2019