Technologies for Flexible Bioenergy (Updated)
As the share of variable renewables like wind and solar increases, flexibility becomes a key requirement for stable and resilient energy systems. This report by Task 44 (Flexible Bioenergy and System Integration) explores how sustainable bioenergy can provide flexibility to the energy system in multiple dimensions, including temporal, spatial and sectoral flexibility, as well as flexibility with respect to feedstock, operation, and end-products.
Bioenergy contributes to both short-term flexibility (e.g. balancing electricity grids, providing peak-load heat) and long-term flexibility (e.g. storing and transporting biomass-based energy carriers, enabling cross-sector use). The report presents core technologies that demonstrate how bioenergy can inherently or in combination with other energy sources enhance system controllability and stability. A concise overview of these technical options is provided, with more detailed information and references available in the appendix.
Download the full report: Technologies for Flexible Bioenergy (Updated)
Key takeaways:
As described in the report, there are many pathways and technologies for sustainable biomass to support the energy system by their inherent flexibility, given that biomass offers more options for controlled use, conversion to energy carriers and storage than other renewable sources of electricity (PV, wind, hydropower). The diagram below shows schematically the large variety of pathways from feedstock to application including the options for changing place and time of using the bioenergy.
The diagram shows clearly that by far not all of the technically possible and successfully demonstrated technology options have been applied on a regular basis yet. For example, while combustion of biomass or biomass-based intermediates and energy carriers for production of heat (e.g., district heating) or combined heat and power is quite common, the flexibility of these units for positive ancillary services is only rarely exploited; mostly in countries where suited incentives such as a flexibility premium exist.
With the further increasing share of variable renewables like PV and wind in the energy system, the flexibility of bioenergy – besides electricity production on demand also, e.g., the synergies with Power-to-X processes – will become more and more necessary and therefore more valuable. Especially the upcoming hydrogen strategies in several countries will open many new options for synergies, as can be seen from the multiple options to include renewable hydrogen in bioenergy value chains.
The broad use of bioenergy flexibility, i.e., positive and negative ancillary services and options for storage and transport within existing infrastructure, will depend on a suitable market design and for some period also on support schemes to anticipate for upcoming higher flexibility needs in the energy system and to allow the stakeholders to decide for the better investments.