EU support for bioenergy

Funding research

Research and Technology Development (RTD) plays a key role in bioenergy and the EU has supported bioenergy-related RTD under several successive Framework Programmes, covering the whole chain from feedstock production to end-use.

Since starting in 2007, the current Framework Programme (FP7) has been focussing on biofuels and renewable electricity production from biomass. The predominance of biofuel projects was a direct result from the high oil prices during that period. Thus far, more than 20 projects have been supported with around EUR 70 million. International cooperation has become a central issue with coordinated calls to address certain areas, e.g. power generation with Russia and biofuels with Latin America. Coordinated and joint calls are used to a much larger extent than in previous years. Case in point is the joint call "Biorefineries" that was published in 2008 and brought together four different research Areas (Energy, Materials, Environment, Agriculture). Other priorities of current activities are new feedstocks (aquatic biomass & waste) and biorefineries.

Between 1998 and 2002 (FP5) around 100 projects were supported with a total of EUR 140 million. Priority during this time was given to research into thermal processes though eight projects on biofuels were supported. The following Framework Programme (FP6, 2002-2006) funded 40 projects with a total amount of around EUR 150 million. In the area of biofuels seven projects with a clear focus on 2nd generation biofuel technologies were supported. Moreover, three Integrated Projects (IP) were established for hydrogen production, biorefineries and combustion/co-firing. A Network of Excellence (NoE) was set up to overcome barriers to bioenergy implementation. During FP6 the Biofuels Technology Platform was launched, which has become the core of the biofuels community in Europe.

In the framework of the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme the EC is financing research aimed at overcoming non-technical barriers, which are impeding the market penetration of this type of renewable energy.

Funding opportunities

Bioenergy is one of the priorities of the current Framework Programme. For more information on current open topics in the area of bioenergy please click here.

 

Research projects

Results

Results and descriptions of EU funded research projects on geothermal energy can be found in the "Funded Projects" section of this website (projects from 2002 until now) or in this brochure.

Examples of EU funded projects

Renewable fuels for advanced power trains (RENEW)

Transport emissions are rising in Europe. RENEW scientists have proven that biomass to liquid (BTL - a type of biofuel made from ligno-cellulosic biomass such as wood, straw and energy plants) does not have to be harmful for the environment, and also demonstrated that the impact of biomass production on the environment can be reduced if more sustainable production methods are used.

During the project (January 2004 - December 2007) a number of conversion technologies were further developed and a range of fuel production chains for motor vehicles (FT-biodiesel, dimethylether, synthetic bioethanol) have been compared and partially demonstrated.

Tests in passenger cars and heavy duty diesel engines have been completed, showing that BTL diesel and BTL DME are the best fuels for use in today's diesel vehicles, although DME requires modifications to the engine. The project results, funded under FP6, provided solid foundations for the further development of the next generation of biofuels. The next step for the biofuel research community is to set up a demonstration project to test the concepts developed by RENEW at larger scale.

The team, composed of 32 partners coming from 8 EU Member States and Switzerland, included representatives from the automotive sector, the mineral oil industry, electricity producers, pulp and paper production, process engineering and universities.

For more information please see the project's website.

Advanced Biomass Gasification for High-efficiency Power (BIGPOWER)

The project aimed at developing reliable, cost effective and fuel flexible gasification technologies for high-efficiency small-to-medium scale (1-110 MWe) power production from biomass.

Three promising European gasification technologies have been selected to form the basis for the development of the second generation processes, with the overall aim to carry out well focused R&D activities in a pre-competitive manner on the key bottlenecks of advanced biomass gasification power systems. These new gasification technologies, as opposed to previous ones (i.e. fixed-bed gasification), can be performed not only using high quality and expensive wood-chips, briquettes and pellets, but also biomass residues and energy crops. The result is that a whole range of biomass and waste fuels can be utilised for producing electricity, reducing effectively the cost of electricity production (minus euro 0.05/KWh by 2015).

This project has been financed under the 6th Framework Programme and is run by a team of partners with complementary expertise (including gasification manufacturers, gas cleaning developers and engine and fuel cells suppliers). BIGPOWER started in October 2005 and is still running, contributing to the creation of the fundamental and technical basis for successful industrial follow-up developments and demonstration projects aimed at a commercial break-through by 2010-2020.

For more information please see the project's website

 

Providing research funding is just one way of supporting research.

• Read more about how the EU stimulates cooperation in the area of bioenergy.

Working together

An important element of European research is the bringing together of research actors from European and Third Countries that are active in the same field. Cooperation takes place within EU funded research projects or Thematic Platforms. The latter aim at facilitating the definition of a common vision for the sector and the identification of research needs.

Given the complexity of the bioenergy sector, the EU has encouraged the wide and diverse stakeholder community to join forces in a number of European Technology Platforms (TP): the Biofules TP, the Sustainable Chemistry TP, the Plants for the Future TP and the Forest Based TP. All of these platforms are led by industry and bring together research organisations, universities, governments and civil society representatives, with the common aim of working on the definition, development and implementation of a Strategic Research Agenda and Implementation Plan. A mechanism is in place to ensure cooperation between these different platforms.

The Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan) aims at upgrading the level of stakeholder cooperation in the bioenergy sector by proposing a European Industrial Initiative on Bioenergy (EIBI). This industry-led initiative aims at accelerating the deployment of bioenergy in Europe. In particular, it will focus on the development of sustainable, cost-competitive, world-class biofuel technologies ("second generation Biofuels") and on bioenergy carriers (these are semi-elaborated products with a higher energy density than raw biomass). More information on the work of the European Industrial Initiative on Bioenergy can be found on the SET-Plan homepage.

Energy challenges are global necessitating cooperation beyond the borders of the EU. As such cooperation takes place at a bilateral level between the EU and partner countries and in a multilateral framework (through the IEA or other multilateral initiatives). More information on international cooperation between the EU and other countries/regions in energy research can be found on the International cooperation section of this website.

 

Read more about the current state and future prospects of bioenergy.