DEVELOP

To develop a framework for the better understanding, the exchange of information and human resources, and the discussion of opportunities for collaboration.

ALIGN

To align research activities within EERA institutes to give a techno-scientific basis for further development of advanced bioenergy routes and to foster the possibilities for joint technology development.

ADVISORY

To have an advisory role to SET-Plan and to the industrial sector about biomass and bioenergy research priorities for the middle to long term.

ENFORCE

To enforce an efficient collaboration with the industrial sector as well as with the related European Technology and Innovation Platforms (ETIPs), and to achieve the interest and the mobilization of national resources to support the development of the Joint Programme activities.

PROMOTE

To promote an open discussion and analysis of the most realistic research and development alternatives to develop sustainable bioenergy.

BOOST

To boost collaborative research between the members of the Bioenergy Joint Programme and with other Joint Programmes members’, as well as other external partners outside EERA, in order to develop research and development projects that support the Joint Programme activities and the Joint Programme impact.

ESTABLISH

To develop and establish international cooperation on Bioenergy.

SHARING

To promote infrastructures sharing (including the creation of new ones) and scientist mobility in order to achieve a more efficient and relevant use of the research resources.

Subprogramme 1: Thermochemical Platform

> Coordinator: Dr. Jaap KIEL from the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN)

Aims at improving competitiveness and facilitating the development and implementation of next generation thermochemical processing technologies for biofuels and other bioproducts production from biomass (containing) residues and energy crops. Biofuels studied comprise a wide range of biobased fuel options for aviation, maritime and (long-distance) road transport, as well as a substitute of natural gas and other gaseous fuels. Other bioproducts typically involve the coproduction of biochemicals, power and heat applying biorefinery concepts to biofuels production.

To reach this goal, SP1 is divided into the following three working R&D areas:
• Biomass upgrading
• Gasification
• Gas cleaning and processing

Subprogramme 2: Biochemical Platform

> Coordinator: Dr. Francisco GIRIO, from the National Laboratory of Energy and Geology of Portugal (LNEG)

Aims at improving competitiveness and facilitating the development and implementation of next generation technologies for biofuels and sustainable alternative fuels from all types of organic fractions of biomass that produce sugars upon hydrolysis. Complementarily, non-sugar moieties from biomass are integrated in the sugar platform to reduce costs.
The subprogram has two main objectives:
• Developing cost-effective technologies of lignocellulosic ethanol, higher alcohols and sugar biomass derived hydrocarbons for petrol diesel and jet fuel substitutes.
• Developing lignin and hemicelluloses platforms to other commodities to allow the economic feasibility of biofuel biorefineries from lignocellulosic biomass

For reaching these goals, SP2 is divided into three working R&D areas:
• Cell factories
• Lignocellulosic biomass deconstruction
• Lignin and hemicellulose valorization under a biorefinery context

Subprogramme 4: Feedstock production and sustainable biomass

> Coordinator: Dr. Jean TAYEB, from the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA)

Aims at designing feedstock production systems and logistics ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of biomass from agriculture, forestry, algae and biowaste to the bioenergy/biorefinery plant gate. The first focus is on the optimization of feedstock production, depending on local soil and climatic conditions and based on innovative management practices in accordance with the needs of the conversion processes. The second focus deals with the logistics of supply chains, particularly from forestry or agricultural products.
The overall objective is to provide tools for the estimation of realistic cost-supply scenarios for various kind of biomass for energy production and identify means to overcome the challenges related with high demand variation of biomass supply.

This subprogramme comprises four working R&D areas:
• Innovative agricultural and forestry feedstock production systems and supply chains
• Study of the potential of alternative carbon sources (algae, biowaste)
• Analysis of the impact of certification schemes and policy frameworks
• Global sustainability analysis of bioenergy systems, deployment scenarios and case-studies

Subprogramme 5: Stationary bioenergy

> Coordinator: Dr. Berta Matas, from SINTEF (Norway)

Aims at improving competitiveness of stationary bioenergy for different scales, technologies and systems. All the main products, heat, power and cooling are included.

It addresses three major themes which define three working R&D areas:
• Residential/domestic heating and cooling, including micro-CHP
• Industrial and municipal combined heat, power and cooling (CHPC)
• Utility multifuel operation