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European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative (EIBI)

A document presenting a pragmatic proposal to shape a European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative (EIBI) has been prepared by Working Group 6 Prioritisation of EBTP and discussed extensively by the Steering Committee.

This discussion document is currently available to registered stakeholders via the reports link on the stakeholders members area.

Download EIBI Proposal - Executive Summary (178 Kb)

Steps towards a proposal for an EIBI >>

Introduction, objectives and outcomes of the EIBI >>

 

Steps towards a proposal for an EIBI

On 22 Nov 2007, the European Commission proposed a plan to accelerate energy technologies for a low-carbon future, the SET Plan. To put the plan into action, European Industrial Initatives on several energy technologies including bioenergy were proposed, with the aim to strengthen energy research and innovation by bringing together appropriate resources and actors in a particular industrial sector. These initatives are to be focused on technologies for which the barriers, scale of investment and risk can best be tackled collectively by the EU, Member States and industry. The initiatives must also demonstrate measurable objectives in terms of cost reduction or improved performance.

The aims of the SET Plan are in line with many of the proposals made in the EBTP Strategic Research Agenda and Strategy Deployment Document, launched in January 2008, which identified demonstration of innovative technologies as a critical step in achieving the EU's ambitious goals for biofuels. During 2008, a newly established EBTP Working Group on Prioritisation (WG6) developed a pragmatic approach to identify and analyse those innovative biofuels and bioenergy technologies that could bring a significant contribution to the ambitious EU objectives for renewables and sustainable biofuels, in addition to existing bioenergy and biofuels pathways.

The outcome of the work clearly indicated that a focus on conversion technologies is not enough. The value chain approach developed by EBTP WG6 stressed that biomass resources and product markets are an integral parts of this analysis. As illustrated at the EBTP 2nd Stakeholder Plenary Meeting held in Brussels on 22 January 2009, industry players already active in the development of these pathways and technologies are willing to pursue demonstration and commercial implementation, provided an adequate framework can be developed around public/private partnership to share financing and manage the main risks (feedstock, technology, market, regulatory, financial …).

In 2009, the value chain approach was integrated by WG6 into a broader contribution to the European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative (EIBI) within the EU SET Plan. EIBI was extensively discussed within EBTP, its stakeholders and the EC. The EIBI proposal was also a key item of two workshops organised by the European Commission and a conference organised by the EC and the Swedish Council Presidency:

Workshop 1, 26 June 2009: Proposal presented to the European Community Steering Group for Strategic Energy Technologies, the European Energy Research Alliance and other relevant stakeholders. See stakeholder section of EBTP website for a summary.

Technical Workshop 2, 25th September 2009: Focused on “Eligibility and Project Selection Criteria”. Around 40 technical experts, European Commission staff and representatives of EBTP discussed eligibility and robust selection criteria for projects of the European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative, which are likely to be closer to deployment and larger than the classical Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) projects.

SET Plan Conference, 21-22 October 2009, Stockholm: The 6 European Industrial Initiatives (wind power, solar energy, bioenergy, carbon capture and storage, nuclear power and smart grids) were a major focus of the SET Plan conference, where the EIBI proposal was presented by EBTP Chair, Véronique Hervouet within the parallel session on Bioenergy. The EBTP presentation was complemented by interventions of Hans-Harald Jahn, European Investment Bank, and Ed de Jong, IEA Bioenergy, Task 42 “Biorefineries: Co-production of Fuels, Chemicals, Power and Materials from Biomass”.

View SET Plan Conference Speech by Energy Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs

On 7 October 2009, the European Commission adopted the Communication Investing in the development of low carbon technologies (SET-Plan), calling for an additional €50bn public and private investments in low carbon technologies over the next decade and detailing the technology roadmaps for the Industrial Initiatives. The next steps for all Industrial Initiatives will be discussions between the European Commission and Member States on different political levels during the forthcoming months.

A SET Plan Steering Group Meeting was held on 25 November 2009. Extensive meeting documents are now available for download.

 

Brief Introduction to EIBI

The scope of EIBI is on innovative bioenergy value chains which are not yet commercially available (thus excluding current biofuels, heat & power, biogas ?) and could be deployed at large scale (large single units or larger number of smaller units).

Key Objectives of EIBI

• Enabling commercial availability of advanced bioenergy at large scale by 2020, aiming at production costs allowing competitiveness with fossil fuels at the prevailing economic and regulatory market conditions, and advanced biofuels covering up to 4 % of EU transportation energy needs by 2020.
• Strengthening EU world technology leadership for renewable transport fuels for diesel and jet engines, serving the fastest growing area of transport fuels, in the world.

Core Activity of EIBI

• Selection and funding of Demonstration and/or Reference plants projects
• Budget and timeline; 6-8 Billion € over 10 years, to fund 15 to 20 demonstration and / or reference plants

Main Outcomes of EIBI

• Developing use in the EU of sustainable biomass resources for bioenergy applications, adjusted to local context.
• Focusing relevant EU public and private R&D capability on strategic objectives validated at EU level.
• Contributing significantly to the creation of green jobs, to locally and sustainably produced energy and to the development of a healthy bioenergy industrial base.
• Stimulating education and training in the related scientific and technological areas, raising the level of competencies and increasing the number of professionals.