February 2008
By Justin Toland, Editor
In late November, during European Paper Week 2007, the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) hosted an open seminar in Brussels: "Solid biomass mobilization for the forest-based industries and the bio-energy sector". Scientists, representatives of industry, environmental NGOs, European policy-makers and other interested parties took part in the event, which was divided into sessions on the forest sector, agriculture, and European Union (EU) policy, followed by an interactive panel discussion.
The opening speaker Florian Steierer, a PhD student at the Center of Wood Science and Technology at Hamburg University, Germany, looked at wood resource availability and demands and the implications of renewable energy policies in the EU/EFTA region. Steierer explained that the purpose of the study, which was jointly carried out with the Timber Section of UNECE/FAO, was twofold: to give a picture of wood use and supply in 2005, and to provide a forecast of future wood use in 2010 and 2020.
The Hamburg/UNECE/FAO study gave a total wood supply figure of 774 million m3 in 2005, with wood use put at 821 million m3. Some 42% of that wood is being used for energy, with 58% for material use.
According to UNECE/FAO's European Forest Sector Outlook Study (EFSOS), wood use for energy in the EU 25 should rise from 313 million m3 in 2005 to 591 million m3 in 2010 and 768 million m3 in 2020. This compares with national policy targets for the EU 25 of 446 million m3 in 2010 and 689 million m3 in 2020.
Steierer noted that the EFSOS predicts a gap between wood availability and the amount of wood use necessary to meet its projections and policy objectives. This gap would rise from 185 million m3 of wood in 2010 to 448 million m3 of wood in 2020.
In order to cover this shortfall, Steierer suggested one option would be to increase wood supply in the EU/EFTA. This could be done through increasing the supply from existing forests, expanding or intensifying forest management, using trees outside the forest, using other sources (including recovered wood) and through imports.
Three views from the forest
Giving the producers' perspective, Pierre-Olivier Drège of EUSTAFOR (The European State Forests Association) announced himself more optimistic than CEPI regarding the future wood supply/demand balance. Drège believes that a sharp production increase is possible but that each European nation needs a biomass harvesting action plan and a strategic roadmap for 2020. Two key questions Drège raised are "what percentage of extra annual increment can be taken out of forests sustainably?" and "what percentage of existing stocks in the forest can be made available to the market?"
Drège pointed out that while Sweden harvests 85% of its annual increment, in France the figure is only 55-60%. This indicates that more wood is available, but it has to be harvested in a sustainable way and it has to be certified, said the EUSTAFOR President.
The end users' perspective was presented by vice chairman, Södra Timber, Christer Segerstéen. He pointed out that 50% of a tree is energy and that currently 10% of Södra's turnover comes from energy. The Swedish firm aims to increase that figure to 30% a decade from now.
Segerstéen explained that while it is not possible to use forest wood resources 100%, the supply of wood could be increased. More use of stumps could generate an additional 3 TWh of energy. Better use of existing forest land could see a 25% increase in yield (through improved siviculture, fertilization, ditch cleaning and plant material).
With support from the EU Rural Development Program it could also be possible to afforest 130,000-160,000 ha of bare land and 100,000 ha of arable land with fast-growing broad leaf tree species (hybrid aspen and poplar on a 25-year rotation cycle), said Segerstéen. However, he cautioned against investing too much hope in secondary generation biofuels too soon. With regard to black liquor gasification technology he said, "We must be honest, it [will be] 10 years before it is commercial."
Fast-growing trees on farmland
In the agriculture session, Hillkka Summa, Head of the Biomass Unit at DG Agriculture at the European Commission, said that the EU renewables policy was a system for ensuring the sustainability of biofuels. There would be differentiated national targets for renewable energy. Some 195 million ToE is expected from biomass, of which 63 million ToE is expected from agricultural crops.
Summa noted that currently 3.7-3.9 million ha of land is being used for energy crops. The European Union has a budget of Euro 2.5 billion ($3.7 billion) to support afforestation with fast-growing tree species, and up to 80% of the plantation costs can be supported.
Przemyslaw Dobrzeniecki of Lantmännen, a biofuel producer and trader with an annual turnover of Euro 32 million, explained that the firm he works for has developed 24 EU-approved varieties of salix, of which 10 are widely used as an energy crop. Some 18,000 ha of salix is being grown in Sweden by approximately 1,250 farmers. According to Dobrzeniecki, the species gives three times as much final energy/ha as traditional energy crops such as rapeseed.
Dobrzeniecki noted that the profitability/ha in 2007 was similar to the profitability from wheat. "If you commit to willows for 10-15 years you need to know that you will earn at least as much from energy crops as from corn," he said.
Dobrzeniecki also pointed to the fact that there is 50-60 million ha of grassland in the EU and farmers don't know what to do with it. "If 10 million ha could be used for energy crops it could close the gap between supply and demand," he stated.
Tracking biomass use and availability
According to the results of the EUBIONET II project, which was set up to calculate how much biomass for energy and other commercial uses would be available in 2010; and to study the biomass fuel market and prices from December 2004 to June 2006, including the pattern of imports and exports, as well as analyzing the supply chains, the largest potential is in forest wood.
Project leader Eija Alakangas indicated that the potential annual harvest of energy from forest wood totals 32 million ToE/yr. However, only about 25% of the potential is currently being used and there are challenges to be overcome before this potential can be tapped. Large-scale use is mainly confined to Scandinavia (where wood is co-fired with peat or coal). Forest chips are more of a small-scale local/regional fuel, said Alakangas. There has to be more development of fuel supply and logistics chains and local supply and demand have to meet, she added.
Regarding the wood pellet trade, EUBIONET II found that production in Europe amounted to some 6.2 million tonnes/yr, of which 60% was based in the Baltic Sea area. To enable tracking of the solid biofuel trade, EUBIONET II recommends wood pellets be given their own CN-code; that biomass and waste streams be separated in EU statistics; and that an international price index for wood pellets be established.
The penultimate speaker of the day was head of European climate and energy policy, WWF, Stephan Singer. The NGO is in favor of "'climate-friendly' use of bioenergy," he said. It is also, "In favor of global trade if it is fair, equitable and fills the pockets of the right people," he added. "Supply alternatives to biofuels – coal to liquids, tar sands and liquid natural gas from clathrate – are horrible," believes WWF.
The NGO agrees with CEPI that some plants should be burned for energy and some should not. "We need certification across the biofuel sector," said Singer. He called for a mandatory European and voluntary global system that includes a greenhouse gases (GHG) calculation. Long-term this system should include all agricultural commodities, believes the NGO. However, cautioned Singer, "If you want to kill biofuels, base your program on corn ethanol, as the US has done."
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