NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018 1

Newsletter
October
2018

Content

1. New call “Combined biomass valorisation to bioenergy, industrial

feedstocks and bio-based products ”
On 22th October 2018 the call for Re-
search, Development & Innovation Pro-
posals was jointly published by the net-
works ERA-NET Bioenergy (13th Joint
Call) and BESTF3 (3rd additional Joint
Call).
The call “Combined biomass valorisation
to bioenergy, industrial feedstocks and
bio-based products” aims to support
innovative, collaborative pan-European,
R&D&I projects focussing on technology
readiness levels 2-7 . A higher TRL than
the initial must be achieved at the end of
the funded project.
Funding will be offered to excellent pro-
posals that provide clear added value
through cooperation of partners in at
least two (preferably more) participating
countries. Novelty beyond the state of
the art in the addressed value chain must
be significant, and evidence of exploita-
tion potential must be provided (e.g. by
way of tangible industry commitment).
Public funding would be available for this
joint call from funding bodies in Austria,
Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Po-
land, Sweden and Switzerland. The indic-
ative total available budget amounts to
over 6 Mio €.
1. Call “Combined biomass valorisation to
bioenergy, industrial feedstocks and bio-
based products” 1
The closing date for pre-proposals is Jan- 2. Overview of the funded projects 2
uary 29th 2019. Pre-proposals must be
submitted in English, electronically via the 3. Selected Research News 3
Call submission system . Projects are ex- 3.1 ICOCAD 3
pected to start in spring 2020. 3.2 CHEMBEET 4
3.3 GrateAdvance 6
The complete call text and all accompany-
ing documents are published on the 3.4 MetHarmo 7
webpages of ERA-NET Bioenergy and 3.5 OxyCar-FBC 9
BESTF3 and on the web pages of the par-
3.6 EnCat 10
ticipating funding agencies
(www.eranetbioenergy.net/jointcall13 & 3.7 CoRyFee 11
http://eranetbestf.net/ ). 3.8 BioWaMet 12
4. Past events 16
* PARTNERING OPPORTUNITY * NET-
WORKING WEBINAR * 5. Upcoming events 17
6. ETIP-B-SABS 2 18
On 27.11.2018 a matchmaking webinar will
7. About ERA-NET Bioenergy and BESTF3 19
be organised to give researchers the
chance to interlink with each other and
enlarge consortia. To sign up for this, appli-
cants need to express their interest by
sending an email to Boris Vashev
b.vashev@fnr.de at the Call Secretariat
until 20.11.2018. For presenting concrete
ideas and need of partners, three PPT
slides per project including project idea,
existing partners/experience and missing
profiles must be sent to the Call Secretariat
before the webinar as well. A link to the
webinar will be sent to registered partici-
pants on 22.11.2018 .
NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018 2

2. Overview of the funded projects

Joint Call 8: “Integrated biorefinery concepts”

The projects funded within the 8th call of ERA-NET bioenergy finished in 2018

ICOCAD- Development of an Innovative Concept CHEMBEET -Biofuels and green chemicals from CtoC farming: Cradle to cattle farming
for Carbon Dioxide Utilization as Side Stream of sugar beet through direct processing
Integrated Bio-refinery Concepts
Countries : NL , PL Countries: NL, PL, UK
Countries: DE, PL
Link (s. Chapter 3.2)
(s. Chapter 3.1)

Joint Call 9: “Innovative Bioenergy concepts”

The projects of the 9. Joint Call will finish at the end of 2018 and the 1. quarter of 2019.

BIOFLEX - Clean and flexible
use of new difficult biomass
fuels in small medium scale
combustion
Countries: SE, DE, PL , AT
Link
REFAWOOD - Resource-
efficient fuel additives for re-
ducing ash related operational
problems in waste wood com-
bustion
Countries: SE, AT, DE, NL , PL
Link
MetHarmo - European GrateAdvance - Advanced Scaling Up -Scaling up
harmonisation of methods adjustable grate solutions advanced biofuels and
to quantify methane emis- for future fuel flexible bio- biochemical production
sions from biogas plants mass combustion technolo- Countries: NL, CH
gies
Countries: DE, AT , SE; Countries: AT, CH , SE
partners from DK, CA -
associated Link
Link

Joint Call 10: “Biobased economy projects”

The projects are running until early 2020.

OxyCar-FBC—Oxygen carriers in fluidized bed combustion of biomass for EnCat - Enhanced catalytic fast pyrolysis of biomass for maximum produc-
higher efficiency, reduced emissions and negative CO2 tion of high-quality biofuels
Countries: AT, SE Countries: NL, AT, PL, SE
(Link) (Link)

Joint call 11: “Bioenergy as part of a smart and flexible energy system”

BIO-CCHP - Advanced EvEmBi - Evaluation BIOFEGG- Biogas HESAC- Hydrogen ManuMax- Develop- VaBiFlex- Value-
biomass CCHP based and reduction of me- For Future Electric Energy by Solar Activa- ment of a heat integrat- optimised use of biomass
on gasification, SOFC thane emissions from and Gas Grids tion of Cellulose ed steam explosion pre- in a flexible energy infra-
and cooling machines different European treatment process to structure
biogas plant concepts unlock the biogas poten-
Countries: AT, PL, SE Countries: AT, CH, DE , Countries: AT, FI, SE Countries: PL, SE tial of manure Countries: AT, DE, FI, SE
SE Countries: CH , SE
Link Link Link

BESTF2
CoRyFee - Cost Reduction in Yeast Fermen- MSWBH - Municipal Solid Waste to Butanol and BIOWAMET - BIO-Methane Production from Ur-
tation for Commercial Production of Cellulosic Hydrogen ban Organic Matter
Ethanol
Countries: DK & SE Countries: UK & NL Countries: ES, NL, & UK
Link) Link Link

BESTF3
Phoenix - High efficiency heat and power Waste2Bio - Valorization of urban SegraBio - Second Grade Biomass for Biofuels
generation from Syngas WASTEs to new generation of BIOethanol

Countries: UK & NL Countries: UK & ES Countries: DK & SE

Link
NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018
3. Selected Research News
3.1 ICOCAD “Development of an innovative concept for carbon dioxide utilization as side stream of integrated bio-refinery
concepts”
Gunther Kolb, Fraunhofer-Institut für Mikrotechnik und Mikrosysteme (IMM), Germany
Project goals are the development of an inno-
vative reactor concept for the utilization of
carbon dioxide as side product of biogas
plants, innovative biorefinery concepts and
industrial plants through the methanation of
carbon dioxide (Sabatier-reaction).
Project partners are University Maria Curie-
Sklodowska (UMCS) in Lublin (PL) for catalyst
development, KONSUN Sp. Z o.o. (PL) for
construction and operation of the pilot plant,
Fraunhofer IMM (DE) for catalyst develop-
ment, reactor development, process develop-
ment and Ingenieurbüro Berg (DE) for the
plant concept development, optimization of
heat management, life cycle analysis (LCA),
economic analysis.
The main work packages are to develop dura-
ble poison and coke resistant catalysts for
realistic process conditions, to determine the
poison resistance and long term stability of
these catalysts, to design and manufacture
small pilot (larger than laboratory) reactors
based upon process simulation using a modu-
lar reactor design approach (plate heat-
exchangers coated with catalysts) and an
innovative reactor concept. These reactors
are then to be tested with realistic feed gases.
A two stage reactor concept (1st stage: Adia-
batic, monolithic reactor, 2nd stage plate heat
-exchanger with decreasing temperature
profile) was developed. Figure 1 shows the
first and second reactor stage currently under
construction, which will use novel catalyst
technology developed by UMCS in the scope
of the project.
The scientific articles and conference presen-
tations disseminating the results of the ICO-
CAD project are listed below. As co-ordinator,
Prof. Dr. G. Kolb also presented the project at
the BioTech Hack at 6th December 2017 in
Brussels.
Figure 1: Adiabatic (monolithic) 1st stage reactor (left) and 2nd stage plate-heat exchanger reactor under development in the scope of ICOCAD
3
A. Articles
W. Gac, W. Zawadzki, G. Słowik, A. Sienkiewicz, A. Kierys, Nickel catalysts supported on silica micro-
spheres for CO2 methanation, Micropor. Mesopor. Mater. 272 (2018) 79–91.
B. Conference presentations
W. Gac, W. Zawadzki, M. Cichy, G. Słowik, Methanation of bio-CO2 over Ni/CexZr1-xO2 catalysts, 13th Panno-
nian International Symposium on Catalysis, 19 – 23 September 2016, Siófok, Hungary – poster.
W. Gac. W. Zawadzki, M. Greluk, G. Słowik, S. Turczyniak, Novel Ni/CeO 2 and Ni/ZrO2 catalysts for bio-CO2
methanation, 13th European Congress on Catalysis, EUROPACAT, 27-31 August 2017, Florence,
Italy – poster.
W. Gac, M. Rotko, W. Zawadzki, M. Greluk, G. Słowik, Effects of nickel loading and activation conditions on
the properties of Ni/Al2O3 catalysts for CO2 methanation reaction, 13th European Congress on
Catalysis, EUROPACAT, 27-31 August 2017, Florence, Italy - poster.
W. Gac, A. Sienkiewicz, A. Kierys, G. Słowik, W. Zawadzki, Silica microspheres and nano-CeO2 as supports
for nickel catalysts of CO2 methanation, 13th European Congress on Catalysis, EUROPACAT,
Florence, Italy, 27-31 August 2017 - poster.
W. Gac, W. Zawadzki, M. Rotko, G. Słowik, M. Greluk, S. Turczyniak, Supports effects on the properties of
CO2 methanation catalysts, XLVII Polish Annual Conference on Catalysis, 15-17 March 2017,
Cracow, Poland – oral presentation.
W. Gac, A. Sienkiewicz, G. Słowik, W. Zawadzki, A. Kierys, Synthesis and properties of model nickel sup-
ported catalysts on silica microspheres for CO2 methanation, XXI-st Zeolite Forum, 7-11 Febru-
ary 2017, Boszkowo, Poland – oral presentation.
W. Gac, W. Zawadzki, M. Rotko, M. Greluk, G. Słowik, A. Machocki, S. Turczyniak, Influence of nickel cata-
lysts composoition on the course of CO2 methanation reaction, Fizykochemia Granic Faz –
Metody Instrumentalne FGF (Physicochemistry of Interfacial Border – Instrumental Methods),
23-26 June 2017, Lublin, Poland – oral presentation.
W. Gac, An application of temperature-programmed techniques for investigation of nickel catalysts for CO2
methanation, 60 Zjazd Naukowy PTChem (60 Meeting of Polish Chemical Society), 17-21 Sep-
tember 2017, Wrocław, Poland – oral presentation.
W. Gac, W. Zawadzki, M. Greluk, G. Słowik, M. Rotko, S. Turczyniak, A. Machocki, An application of side
stream of carbon dioxide in biogas plants for methane production, 60 Zjazd Naukowy PTChem
(60 Meeting of Polish Chemical Society), 17-21 September 2017, Wrocław, Poland – poster.
W. Gac, Innovative concepts of CO2 utilisation, V Ogólnopolska Konferencja – Innowacje w praktyce (V
Polish Conference – Innovation in Practice), 05-06 April 2018, Lublin, Poland - oral presentation.
W. Gac, W. Zawadzki, M. Greluk, G. Słowik, M. Rotko, A. Machocki, Sylwia Turczyniak-Surdacka, CO2
methanation in the presence of Ce-promoted alumina supported nickel catalysts,
4th International Symposium on the Catalysis for Clean Energy and Sustainable Chemistry, 9-11
July 2018, Bilbao, Spain – oral presentation.
S. Neuberg, H. Pennemann, D. Tiemann, M. Wichert, G. Kolb, Power to gas: Heat management of the
methanation of carbon dioxide in microchannel plate heat-exchangers of 5-50 kW power equiva-
lent, 10th World Congress of Chemical Engineering Barcelona 1-5 October 2017 – oral presenta-
tion
W. Gac, G. Kolb, W. Zawadzki, M. Rotko, M. Greluk, G. Słowik, H. Pennemann, S. Neuberg, Effects of sup-
port composition on the performance of nickel catalysts in CO2 methanation reaction, Twelfth
International Symposium on Heterogeneous Catalysis Catalysis: a motor of economy, 26–29
August 2018, Sofia, Bulgaria – oral presentation.
W. Zawadzki, M. Rotko, M. Greluk, G. Słowik, A. Machocki, S. Turczyniak, W. Gac, Biogas upgrading by
methanation of carbon dioxide, 14 Pannonian International Symposium on Catalysis, 3-7 Sep-
tember, Stary Smokovec, Slovak Republic – oral presentation.
Contact: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gunther Kolb
Fraunhofer-Institut für Mikrotechnik und Mikrosysteme IMM
Tel. +49 6131 990-341, Fax +49 6131 990-205
E-Mail: Guther Kolb
NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018 4

3.2 Biofuels and green chemicals from sugar beet through direct processing (CHEMBEET)
Results and relevance of the project + impact

Hans van Klink, Dutch Sustainable Development BV, The Netherlands

The overall outcome of the ERA-NET Bioen-

ergy project, named CHEMBEET, is very suc-
cessful and we can conclude that the results
are very promising. As a result of CHEMBEET
and with the introduction of and investment
in this technology there will be a positive spin
off for all EU regions. This spin off is related to
land usage if sugar beets are used in crop
rotation, soil fertility, jobs in rural areas,
farmer’s welfare, reduction of GHG emission,
carbon footprint with sugar beets is much
better compared with fossil production, high-
er yields of crops in rotation schedule, replac-
ing fossil fuels, reduction on dependence of
fossil fuels, greening the chemistry. Other
results of CHEMBEET are sustainable profile
(energy usage, water footprint) of Direct Pro-
cessing, which is much better compared with
classical processes. Testing of other raw ma-
terials (corn kernels) to make a year round
processing possible.

It is evident that worldwide we have to use

more and more renewable raw materials.
Biomass is, by definition, renewable because
plants capture carbon and, through products
based on this, bring the carbon later back into
the atmosphere. Sugar beets are one of the
most interesting sources of biomass. Reason
thereof is that the sugar beet sugars stored
which are easy to use for several applications.
Via this process the use of products of fossil
origin are getting less and the GHG emissions
will be decreasing. Sugar beet is seen as the
most attractive biobased crop: for the impact
as soil improver, higher yield of the other
rotation crops and for a stable farmers in-
come.
The societal transition towards the use of
renewable resources will push fossil industries
back in favor of more biobased solutions,
including chemicals. Our research has identi-
fied several critical points in the regular work
process of conversion of the sugar beet into
(food grade) bio-ethanol as an example of the
possibilities that are offered by sugar beets.
Feedstock flexibility, CAPEX, OPEX, High
Water Usage, Waste/residues and Robustness
could improve the work process. CHEMBEET
identified solutions to these problems that
optimize the process, leading to an attractive
cost price.
Figure 2: Direct Processing with Betaprocess process flow.
The aim of CHEMBEET was to integrate a
new biomass pretreatment technology
(Betaprocess) that can result in sugars being
readily available for fermentation processes.
In a pilot installation in Lelystad, sugar beet
was successfully pretreated and subsequently
fermented (2 x 1,5 m3 capacity) into ethanol.
As a result of the pilot this will now be scaled
up to a larger fermentation capacity and
eventually a full scale commercial plant.
Main objective of this concept is biomass
processing, using the complete sugar beets
within the cradle to cradle principle, finally no
products are left. All products have useful
application, starting with ethanol, CO2 and
other streams such as cellulose, hemicellulose
and pectin which are available for use as aero-
gels, fibers and for the paper and cardboard
industry. The produced EtOH can be used as
building block others than biofuels, e.g.; for
cosmetics, paint, pharmacy, solvents, disin-
fectants and for chemicals, etc. In the end, a
side stream remains that contains useful nu-
trients that can be used to fertilize new sugar
beet crops .
Direct Processing with Betaprocess consists
of three steps: pretreatment, fermentation
and distillation. Additional to these steps,
storage facilities are needed for sugar beet,
ethanol and the fermented broth. Using Be-
taprocess and its effect on low temperature,
low pressure and split second reaction is
unique compared with other pretreatment
applications and no external (expensive) en-
zymes are needed for the fermentation pro-
cess in comparison with ethanol production
from lignocellulose materials. The pretreat-
ment process (Betaprocess) works with low
pressure, low temperature and the effect is
realized in a split second resulting in use of
less energy and thus in a lower cost price per
Kg product and no waste streams left. Other
pretreatment methodologies generally use
either high pressure or high temperatures or
both.
By using only the pretreatment part of the
Direct Processing with Betaprocess one can
produce fermentable sugars. This product is
the basis for fermentation processes based
on bacteria or fungi to develop a wide range
of chemicals such as citric acid, itaconic acid
etc.
NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018 5

During the CHEMBEET project research took

place in all aspects of the entire value chain.
Therefore we are grateful that we can conclude
that the starting points for valuable and sound
business cases are available. The technology
from beet to ethanol is proven, although some
minor aspects have to be checked at larger scale
level. But the overall conclusion in all separate
process steps are positive. With the CHEMBEET
results farmers can have a more and important
role in the establishment of the GREEN ECON-
OMY.
As a conclusion of the CHEMBEET project, the
Direct Processing with Betaprocess is ready for
the market and ready for a green future.
Relevant information project partners

During the project there was close cooperation

between all partners. ACRRES has updated its
experience with fermentation and distillation Figure 3: Sugar beet: left glass bucket filled with
technology. VAM Watertech was active with the sugar beet bray before Betaprocess and the right
pretreatment, washing and crushing. From the bucket after Betaprocess treatment..
activities of WP2 we conclude that the use of
water can be lower in combination with less
tare. This will be a new development for VAM.

UWM developed more know how about algae

growing, biogas production from reststreams
and the development, using sugar beet, to
other products, such as ABE and IBE
fermentation, succinic acid, lactic acid. Financial
comparison between Direct Processing and
classical processing (via thick juice) was one of
the tasks of UWM, resulting in a positive
conclusion for Direct Processing. All these
results give a real good view about the potential
of sugar beets in the green economy.
With the local subsidies (based on ERA-Net Figure 4: CHEMBEET: sugar beet bray
approval) we succeeded in getting positive in the fermenter (30 hours).
results which otherwise would have taken at
least 5 years. Via the extra available funding
we could define and test the complete
process flow.

The overall conclusion for DSD is that the Direct

Processing with Betaprocess is available for
scaling up. The overall business case is
attractive for farmers and investors, it will
provide them a stable income on a longer term.

With the support of ERA-Net Bioenergy it was

possible:

1. To confirm the defined results of the

methodology;

2. To encourage the scaling up of Direct

Processing with Betaprocess;

3. To make the business model more

feasible and confirm the relevant
figures;
Figure 5: The CHEMBEET pilot plant for “Direct Processing with Betaprocess” at ACRRES –
4. To conclude the complete business Lelystad (the Netherlands).
case, including recommendation for the
next phase.

Contact: Dutch Sustainable Development BV

Hans van Klink
Directeur Project Development
hans@dsdbv.com, +31 653 404 721
www.betaprocess.eu
NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018
3.3 GrateAdvance - Advanced adjustable grate solutions for future fuel flexible biomass combustion technologies
Sabine Feldmeier, BE2020+ GmbH, Austria
The GrateAdvance project consists of three
national projects that are carried out in Austria,
Switzerland and Sweden from 01/2016 to
12/2018. It deals with the development of future
combustion appliances that can be operated
with different types and qualities of biomass
fuels, and to ensure low emissions and high
operational security regarding slag handling at
the same time.
As an unfavourable composition of ash forming
elements in the fuel leads to slag formation on
the grate and in the combustion chamber the
first step is to improve the understanding of the
solid fuel conversion in the fuel bed and to de-
scribe slagging mechanisms and the impact of
operational para-meters (temperature, resi-
dence time, stoichiometry) on particle and
emission release. Within the Swedish part of the
project single pellet tests with the lab reactor
were conducted considering several conditions
(different process temperatures, oxidizing and
reducing atmospheres). Ash release and ash
transformation as well as slag formation were
studied (presentation of results: [1]). In addition
to the release of ash forming elements the Aus-
trian partners investigate issues on tar for-
mation and secondary charring and release of
nitrogen species by modelling. A single particle
model was amended regarding release of light
hydrocarbons and char yield and composition
and development of a one-step scheme for gas
phase tar cracking scheme. Furthermore, a sim-
plified reaction scheme for the release of NOx
precursors has been developed. For details is
referred to [2], [3] and [4].
The further development of a particular com-
bustion technology – the Screw Burner – is the
next step. In Austria and Switzerland simulation
tools were applied to study several details with
regard to this technology. It was feasible to
predict the particle movement (Figure 6) by
applying the Discrete Element Model and by
modelling the gas-solid multiphase flows (Euler-
Granular based on kinetic theory).
Aspects in design, e.g. grate geometry, effect of
air routing on temperature range and formation
of CO and NOx emissions contributed to the
construction process of the small-scale proto-
type (35 kW) and the scale-up (150 kW). The
model approach is introduced in [5] and simula-
tion results on variations of grate geometry,
combustion chamber and air injection are pre-
sented in [6].
Practical combustion tests were conducted in
each of the national projects:
Austria: Screw Burner, small-scale prototype
(35 kW), Schmid Energy Solutions,
Switzerland: Screw Burner, scale-up prototype
(150 kW), Schmid Energy Solutions,
Sweden: Moving grate burner (40 kW)
Figure 6: Particle movements at certain timbre caused by the rotation of the screw conveyor.
A wide range of test fuels (e.g. miscanthus,
willow, bamboo, grain mill residues, corn husks,
olive stone groats, maize) was utilized. The
results of combustion tests conducted with the
35 kW prototype were presented [7]. The exper-
iments served for validation of simulation and
modelling results. Further technological objec-
tives are the development of a future fuel-
flexible control strategy and the elaboration of a
concept for the integration of an electrostatic
precipitator (ESP).
The final techno-economic analysis and sustain-
ability assessment considers the productivity of
relevant biomass fuels/feedstocks and includes
an estimation of the production cost per unit of
bioenergy. The GrateAdvance project will be
completed in December 2018.
Project Consortium - Austrian partners: BIO-
ENERGY2020+ GmbH, Graz University of Tech-
nology, Schmid Energy Solutions (AT). Swiss
partners: VERENUM, Lucerne University of
Applied Sciences, Schmid Energy Solutions
(CH). Swedish partners: Lulea University of
Technology, Umea University.
Acknowledgement: The research leading to
these results has received funding from the
Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)
within the 9th ERA-NET Bioenergy Joint Call:
Bioenergy Concepts, the Swiss Federal Office
for Energy (SFOE), and the Swedish Energy
Agency (SEA).
Contact: Sabine Feldmeier
BIOENERGY 2020+ GmbH | Firmensitz Graz |
Inffeldgasse 21b, A 8010 Graz
T +43 (316) 873-9201, F +43 (316) 873-9202,
office@bioenergy2020.eu |
www.bioenergy2020.eu
6
Publications/References:
[1] A. Hedayati, R. Lindgren, C. Boman and M.
Öhman: Ash transformation during single-pellet
combustion of agricultural fuels – focus on K
and P (The 27th International Conference on the
Impact of Fuel Quality on Power Production and
the Environment. Lake Louise, AB, Canada,
September 24-28, 2018).
[2] A. Anca-Couce, P. Sommersacher, R.
Scharler: Online experiments and modelling
with a detailed reaction scheme of single parti-
cle biomass pyrolysis. Journal of Analytical and
Applied Pyrolysis Volume 127, September 2017,
Pages 411-425.
[3] A. Anca-Couce, P. Sommersacher, N. Evic, R.
Mehrabian, R. Scharler: Experiments and mod-
elling of NOx precursors release (NH3 and HCN)
in fixed-bed biomass combustion conditions.
Fuel Volume 222, 15 June 2018, Pages 529-537.
[4] A. Anca-Couce: Proteins Pyrolysis Scheme
for Predicting the Release of NOx Precursors:
NH3 and HCN. 22nd International Symposium on
Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis.
[5] G. Barroso, S. Roth, T. Nussbaumer: Devel-
opment and Validation of a Combined 1D-Fuel-
Bed- and 3D-CFD-Model for the Simulation of
Moving Grate Boilers, 25th European Biomass
Conference and Exhibition, Stockholm, 12–15
June 2017 Paper W13976
[6] G. Barroso, T. Reiterer, M. Ulrich, S. Feld-
meier, T. Nussbaumer: Schneckenrostfeuerung,
15. Holz­ener­gie-Symposium. ETH Zürich
14.9.18, Verenum Zürich, ISBN 3-908705-37-1
[7] S. Feldmeier, E. Wopienka, M. Schwarz, C.
Pfeifer: „Utilization of various non-woody bio-
mass fuels in an innovative multi-fuel combus-
tion concept” (European Biomass Conference
and Exhibition 2018, Copenhagen)
NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018 7

3.4 European harmonisation of methods to quantify methane emissions from biogas plants (MetHarmo)

Tina Clauß and Torsten Reinelt, DBFZ gGmbH, Germany

The detection and quantification of greenhouse

gas (GHG) emissions in the energy, agricultural
or waste treatment sector is very important for
reaching climate protection objectives. Related
to the biogas sector, methane is the most im-
portant GHG due to its high global warming
potential of 28 according to the Intergovern-
mental Panel on Climate Change. Anaerobic
digestion (AD) plants can have several emission
sources like leakages, open storage of digestate
or the methane slip from the gas utilisation
units. Due to different plant concepts and differ-
ent conditions at the sites, different measure-
ment methods for the determination of an over-
all methane emission rate were developed and
used by research institutions in the past years.
These single methods can be related either to
the on-site approach (investigation of single
emission sources) or to the remote sensing ap-
Figure 7: Group picture of the measurement teams from DBFZ, UStutt, BOKU, DTU, RISE and IRSTEA.
proach (investigation of whole plant emissions).
However, to date, no uniform method proce-
dure was available, and results obtained were  The project partners DBFZ, UStutt, BOKU Furthermore, the project partner BE2020 took
difficult to compare. and ZAMG used the remote sensing ap- digestate samples and investigated the residual
proach, namely the Inverse Dispersion biogas potential at different temperatures.
Therefore, the ERA-NET research project
Modelling Method (IDMM) using open
“European harmonisation of methods to quanti- The measured emission factors (EF) from the
path laser spectrometers and the disper-
fy methane emissions from biogas plants – participating measurement teams from both
sion models Windtrax and LASAT to deter- measurement campaigns are summarised in
MetHarmo” had two main objectives. On the
mine the methane emission rates. Table 1.
one hand, based on comparative emission
The first AD plant was an agricultural type with
measurements, the deviations of the single  The project partner DTU used the remote a biogas upgrading unit (chemical scrubbing)
approaches and methods should be deter-
sensing approach as well, namely the Trac- and a combined heat and power (CHP) unit with
mined. On the other hand, a guideline with a
er Gas Dispersion Method (TDM) using a thermal post combustion as gas utilisation. The
harmonised and recommended measurement
cavity ring down spectrometer and acety- digestate storages were gastight covered.
procedure should be developed. The guideline is
lene as tracer gas.
published in the DBFZ publication series as
DBFZ Report 31 and can be downloaded from  The subcontractor NPL used Differential
https://www.dbfz.de/referenzen-publikationen/ Absorption LIDAR (DIAL), which is also a
dbfz-reports.html. Thereby, comparable emis- remote sensing approach.
sion measurement results from different meth-
ods and institutions should be allowed in the Table 1: Determined methane emission factors from all participating measurement teams.
future.
Campaign Average of the methane EF in % CH4 (related to the methane production of the AD plant;
Two comparative emission measurement cam- normal operating conditions, without artificial methane release)
paigns with overall eight measurement teams
On-site approach (sum of meas- Remote sensing approach (Range of daily averages)
and four different measurement methods took ured single sources)
place:
On-site A On-site B On-site C IDMM A1 IDMM B1 IDMM C1 TDM A DIAL
 The project partners DBFZ, RISE and
I (2016) 0.3 0.4 --- 3 4
1.2 – 1.2 4
0.6 – 1.2 4
0.6 – 0.9 0.3 – 0.7 1.2
IRSTEA used the on-site approach. DBFZ and
RISE tried to quantify all single emission source II (2017) 2.2 – 2.35 2.1 0.22 1.2 – 2.5 1.1 – 2.7 1.1 – 1.2 1.9 – 2.7 ---3

to determine the overall emission rate. In con- 1

… The presented EFs are based on the harmonised evaluation and modelling procedure.
trast, IRSTEA focused exclusively on one source
2
type only namely the biogas leakages. … On-site team C focused on the quantification of biogas leakages only.
3
… The team did not participate in the measurement campaign.
4
… IDMM A had the optimal distance of 100 m to the plant (best measurement conditions). IDMM B had
a too long distance (150 m) and IDMM C a too short distance to the plant (no optimal measurement
conditions).
5
… Indication of a minimum and maximum value
NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018 8

Consequently, AD plant 1 met the requirements

of the state of the art regarding the mitigation
of methane emissions. In contrast, AD plant 2
used the biogas exclusively in flexibly operated
CHPs without effective exhaust gas treatment
for the reduction of the methane slip. The last
stage of the digestate storage was open. Conse-
quently, higher EFs for AD plant 2 were ex-
pected.
The average of the measured EFs from meas-
urement campaign 1 range between 0.3 % CH4
(on-site approach) and 1.2 % CH4 (DIAL). The
mean EFs from measurement campaign 2 range
between 1.1 % CH4 (IDMM) and 2.7 % CH4
(IDMM and TDM) and between 2.1 % CH4 and
2.3 % CH4 for the on-site approach (only for
teams A and B with the full investigation scope).
Thereby, the measured EFs from AD plant 2
were higher than from AD plant 1 as expected. Figure 8: Measurement of the methane diffusion rate from an air-inflated double membrane dome .
On the one hand, the results from the compara-
tive emission measurements confirmed already
known insights. For instance, for the on-site
approach the quantification of the main emis-
sion sources is very important for the determi-
nation of the overall emission rate. On the other
hand, new findings were achieved. For instance,
for the IDMM the positioning and configuration
setup of ultra-sonic anemometer is very im-
portant for the modelling of the overall emis-
sion rate. These insights directly run into the
development of the harmonised guideline.
Furthermore, during extended emission meas-
urements in Germany and Austria carried out by
UStutt and BOKU the harmonised IDMM meas-
urement procedure was tested for the first time
and also was further optimised.
The final workshop of MetHarmo with the topic
„Quantifying Methane Emissions“ was held in
Lund (Sweden) on 1st February 2018. More in-
formation about the workshop here.

Figure 9: Determination of the overall methane emission rate by means of the Inverse Dispersion
Modelling Method. The open-path laser spectrometer measures the atmospheric methane
concentration downwind of the investigated biogas plant.

For further information about MetHarmo,

please visit https://www.dbfz.de/metharmo
(Link) or contact: Torsten Reinelt
(Torsten.Reinelt@dbfz.de, +49 341 2434
NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018
3.5 OxyCar-FBC - “Oxygen carriers in fluidized bed combustion of biomass for higher efficiency,
reduced emissions and negative CO2”
Stefan Penthor, Zero Emission Technologies, TU Wien, Austria
A large part of the project OxyCar-FBC
(“Oxygen Carriers in Fluidized Bed Combustion
of Biomass for Higher Efficiency, Reduced Emis-
sions and (or) Negative CO2”) deals with investi-
gation of the Chemical Looping Combustion
(CLC) process for biomass fuels. CLC is an inno-
vative combustion technology with inherent
CO2 capture at nearly no energy penalty. To
avoid gas-separation, the combustion process is
separated into two different reaction zones, air
reactor (AR) and fuel reactor (FR) in a way that
fuel and combustion air are never mixed (see
Figure 10). A solid oxygen carrier (OC), a metal
oxide, is circulating between AR and FR and
transporting oxygen from combustion air to
fuel. The oxygen carrier is oxidized in the AR by
combustion air end reduced in the fuel reactor
by the fuel. The process yields two different
exhaust gas streams. AR exhaust gas contains
N2 and excess O2, exhaust gas from the FR con-
tains the combustion products CO2 and H2O.
After condensation, a highly concentrated CO2
stream can be obtained.
Figure 10: Concept of Chemical Looping Combus­
tion (CLC).
AR and FR are designed as interconnected circu-
lating fluidized bed reactors and the oxygen
carrier is the bed material circulating between
these reactors. The process temperature for
CLC is comparable to conventional combustion
processes, i.e. 800-1 000 °C depending on fuel
and oxygen carrier material. Thus, a CLC reactor
system can be used in the same way as a con-
ventional circulating fluidized bed reactor (CFB)
in a steam cycle process (heat recovery steam
generator plus steam turbine) to produce pow-
er, heat and/or process steam. Combination of
Carbon Capture and Storage in combination
with bio based fuels (Bio Energy Carbon Cap-
ture and Storage, BECCS), i.e. negative CO2
emissions, gains more and more importance as
a long term climate repair option.
Further, efficiently captured renewable CO2 is
also necessary in a future sustainable circular
economy system, which is independent of fossil
carbon sources.
9
Part of the investigations on CLC of biomass
includes experimental work on an 80 kWth pilot
plant located at Technische Universität Wien in
Vienna, Austria (see Figure 11 and Figure 12).
The plant consist of two fluidized beds, which
are connected at the top and at the bottom by
steam fluidized loop seals. The solid fuel is fed
to the lower part of the fuel reactor, which is
operated in the bubbling bed regime and has a
high solids inventory to ensure sufficient solids
residence time for gasification of residual char
from fuel. The upper part of the fuel reactor is
equipped with flow obstacles, so-called con-
strictions, which disturb the core-annulus for-
mation and increase the solids concentration in
this part of the reactor. Since oxygen carrier
particles from the air reactor enter the fuel reac-
tor at its top, a counter-current flow between
gas and solids is realized. The reactor design
aims at high conversion of fuel volatiles and
gasification products in the upper part of the
reactor, and complete gasification of the residu-
al char in the lower part. The first experimental
runs were all carried out using the natural iron-
titanium ore ilmenite as oxygen carrier and soft
wood pellets as fuel.
Figure 12: 80 kWth CLC pilot unit at TU Wien.
General operation was stable during the whole
campaign with no signs of agglomeration. Fuel
conversion was in the range of 70-90% and the
data show that the counter current flow and the
increased solids concentration in the upper part
of the fuel reactor, respectively, contributed
significantly to fuel conversion. The amount of
fuel lost to the air reactor was in the range of 1-
5%. The results are a great starting point for
further work in the project. This work will in-
clude test with additional oxygen carriers in the
form of manganese ores which have better re-
activity and are expected to give better perfor-
mance as well as optimization of the reactor
system.
Figure 11: Picture of 80 kWth pilot unit at TU Wien.
Contact: Dr. Stefan Penthor
Zero Emission Technologies
TU Wien, Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering
Getreidemarkt 9/166, 1060 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +43-1-58801-166367, Fax: +43-1-58801-16699
E-Mail: stefan.penthor@tuwien.ac.at
NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018 10

3.6 Enhanced catalytic fast pyrolysis of biomass for high-quality biofuels (EnCat)

Gerrit Brem, University of Twente, The Netherlands

The Enhanced Catalytic Pyrolysis (EnCat) pro-
ject presents and investigates a new concept for
the production of high-quality bio-oil from bio-
mass. The idea is schematically given in Figure
13. Because of of a novel biomass pre-treatment
step to be developed the concept is suitable for
both woody biomass and biomass residues from
agriculture, etc. The pretreated biomass will be
pyrolysed in a reactor making use of deoxygen-
ation catalysts. Simultaneously, CO2 will be
captured with sorbents and via the water-gas-
shift reaction in-situ hydrogen will be produced.
After cleaning, the oil vapours will be mildly
hydrogenated to produce a high-quality bio-oil.
The high-quality oil will be used for combustion
tests in both a diesel engine and a gas turbine
for combined power and heat generation.
It was interesting to observe that the highest
yield of the total favorable compounds, includ-
ing hydrocarbons, phenols, furans, and alcohols,
was obtained with staged-catalyst HZSM-5:Al-
MCM-41 ratio of 3:1, compared to other experi-
mental systems and it was 5.27% higher than it
from single HZSM-5. While the non-catalytic
pyrolysis, catalytic pyrolysis with single Al-MCM
-41, HZSM-5, and mixed-catalyst HZSM-5:Al-
MCM-41 ratio of 3:1 resulted in 25.25, 30.05,
70.93, and 69.14%, respectively, the catalytic
pyrolysis with staged-catalyst HZSM-5:Al-MCM
-41 ratio of 3:1 produced 76.20%. The synergis-
tic effects of HZSM-5 and Al-MCM-41 may oc-
cur in the staged-catalyst and mixed-catalyst
system.
This includes different combustion systems
for conventional fuels, dry low NOx for nat-
ural gas and low calorific fuels including
waste gas, syngas, biogas and pyrolysis oil.
The aim in the EnCAT project is to get fur-
ther insight in the atomization and combus-
tion of bio-oil in gas turbines and engines
via experimental and numerical research.
The existing gas turbines combustion sys-
tem will be optimized for (catalytic) pyroly-
sis oil applications with low emissions and
high efficiencies.

Light
Fraction
Regenerator liquid
Catalyst+CO2-sorbent

Biomass
Catalytic
Biomass Solid
Pyrolysis
Pretreatment Seperation
Reactor
Combustion
Chamber
Figure 13: The concept of Enhanced Catalytic fast pyrolysis for the production of biofuels
Parallel to this, the bio-oil will be further up-
graded by a new method of downstream hydro-
genation under high pressure for production of
high-grade transportation fuels.
Here some preliminary project results are given:
Catalytic pyrolysis
A cascade catalyst solution by using staged-
catalysts of HZSM-5 and Al-MCM-41 is pro-
posed and tested by KTH in order to further
improve the quality of bio-oil from catalytic
pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. Idea of the
cascade catalyst solution is using two catalysts
staged one after another in layers was: firstly, to
induce the pre-cracking of the large molecule
oxygenates produced from pyrolysis into small-
er molecules via the larger mesoporous of the Al
-MCM-41 catalyst; secondly, the resultant
smaller oxygenates produced from the Al-MCM
-41 catalyst layer may then enter the smaller
microspores of the HZSM-5 catalyst for further
cracking, mainly into a gasoline range hydrocar-
bon fraction. Figure 14 shows the configuration
of the test facility at KTH.
Heat/
Electricity
Mild Heavy Gas Turbine
Hydrogenation Fraction Bio-oil Gas Engine
liquid
Figure 15: OPRA’s upgraded atmospheric
combustor test rig
Biogas Transportation
2nd Cat. Fuels
Gases and Hydro-
The experimental work is performed in a
Char
genation combustor test rig (Figure 15) which has
been recently upgraded. In the combustor
test rig, OPRA’s combustors can be tested
at atmospheric conditions. A gas mixing
station is used to replicate any gaseous fuel.
Various liquid fuels, including pyrolysis oil
and ethanol, can be handled and mixed.
Application of bio-oil in gas turbine combus-
During the testing, various pressure, tem-
tors
peratures and exhaust gas emissions are
monitored to evaluate the performance of
OPRA Turbines develops, manufacturers, mar-
the operation on pyrolysis oil. The low calo-
kets and maintains generator sets in the 2 MW
power range using the OP16 series of gas tur- rific fuel combustor can operate on pure
bines. The OP16 gas turbine is of an all-radial fast pyrolysis oil in the 70-100% load range.
Within the EnCAT project, optimization of
design, which provides robustness, reliability
the combustor will be performed to widen
and highest efficiency in its class. A key feature
the load range without the need for a pilot
of the OP16 gas turbine the ability to utilize a
fuel. Furthermore, the use of catalytic py-
wide range of fuels.
rolysis oil in a gas turbine combustor will be
evaluated in a later stage of the project.

Contact: Prof.dr.ir. Gerrit Brem

Professor in Energy Technology
University of Twente, The Netherlands
Phone: +31 53 489 2561 (2530) ,
Mail: g.brem@utwente.nl Figure 14: Schematic Diagram of the Two-Stage Catalytic Pyrolysis Reactor (left), and example of
Web: http://www.utwente.nl/ctw/thw/ pyrolysis results from the cascade catalyst solution (right)
NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018 11

3.7 CoRyFee - Cost Reduction in Yeast Fermentation for Commercial Production of Cellulosic Ethanol

Birgitte Rønnow, Terranol A/S, Denmark

Project Summary

As in any other production process it was of

This project involves Terranol A/S from Den-
mark and SEKAB E-Technology and the SP
Technical Research Institute (now RISE) from
Sweden. The project aims to reduce production
costs of cellulosic ethanol by combining the
respective technologies of the partners. An
efficient pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis
process, developed by SEKAB, in combination
with strategies for continued or partially contin-
ued fermentation of hydrolyzed biomass, using
yeast strains developed by Terranol, is being
further refined, upscaled and demonstrated in
the Biorefinery Demo Plant (BDP), managed by
RISE and operated by SEKAB, in Örnsköldsvik,
Sweden.
A fermentation regime, capable of utilizing a
higher proportion of the sugars available, will be
demonstrated with the potential of obtaining a
10% improvement of ethanol yield per ton of
biomass, reduction of the needed fermentation
capacity, and reduction of yeast expenditure by
up to 60%.
A base case for CAPEX reduction as a result of
outmost importance that accurate and stable
implementation of process changes has been
output data can be obtained in order to accu-
drafted. Large-scale BDP trials have been per-
rately control the fermentation process. The
formed and already now an investment reduc-
“sweet spot” of the fermentation process has
tion around 50% lower for the CoRyFee concept
been thoroughly tested in laboratory scale and
compared to conventional yeast propagation
was further verified in demo scale during fer-
based on a batch process can be demonstrated.
mentation trials. Considering that the results
It is evident that laboratory scale results are
from the near industrial scale closely resemble
transferable to near industrial scale, and that
those achieved in laboratory scale shows that
the cost saving in terms of OPEX lays primarily
the “sweet spot” could be controlled in large
in the significantly lowered yeast requirement
scale as well.
for the process.
The novel fermentation control program effect-
Successful lab trials with the RI instrument
ing real time feed control based on online meas-
made it possible to install and test it in the BDP urement of the RI has been developed, and the
and it was found to be very suitable for the type method is the subject of a joint patent applica-
of process control. tion filed by Terranol and SEKAB.

Summary of results (so far)

A more efficient and especially cost-effective 2G

ethanol fermentation process based on a flexi-
ble production strategy allowing to extend a fed
-batch fermentation process into a semi contin-
uous or even continuous fermentation process
by the use of a newly developed process control
method allowing control of the feed stream has
been developed. This alternative approach is
based on refractometer measurement, which
relies on the fact that the refractive index (RI)
value is linearly related to the sugar concentra-
tion.
Figure 16: Biorefinery Demo Plant (BDP), Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
A yeast propagation procedure that allows for
greater carbon source utilization towards bio-
mass was developed in laboratory scale and Duration of project: 3 years and 10 months
successfully transferred to the BDP. Balanced
yield, e.g. sugar utilization towards biomass was
Coordinator: Birgitte Rønnow, Terranol A/S, Denmark
close to theoretical indicating that very little
sugar is lost towards undesirable products. contact: Info@terranol.com
Partners: Thore Lindgren, SEKAB E-technology, Sweden
Emma Johansson, SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden

Project budget: €3,927,500

NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018
3.8 BioWaMet - “Bio-methane production from urban organic matter”
Consortium Summary
José R. Vázquez Padín, FCC Aqualia, SA, Spain
BIOWAMET involves the development of an
anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR), at a
demonstration scale, as a sustainable alterna-
tive to traditional aerobic wastewater treat-
ment. As such, the traditional concept of
wastewater treatment plants moves to a new
approach that considers wastewater as a source
of energy, nutrients and a directly reusable wa-
ter resource thanks to the partial disinfection
process that ultrafiltration (UF) membranes
provide.
Wastewater treatment in anaerobic systems
coupled to UF membranes allows:
- Energy recovery thanks to efficiency (since no
aeration is needed) as well as biogas produc-
tion, saving, at least, 70% of energy consump-
tion. This brings a dramatic reduction of the
carbon footprint by 80% compared with con-
ventional sewage treatment.
- Water recovery with suitable characteristics
for agricultural reuse, since nutrients have not
been degraded in the process.
- Less produced sludge, which reduces sludge
management costs.
With the aim of demonstrating the feasibility of
AnMBRs as an innovative technology the Bio-
WaMet consortium is researching ways to max-
imise the production of bioenergy through
membrane fouling control, on-line filterability
metrics, flux enhancers and pilot plant testing.
Figure 17: Overall project concept
12
Aqualia The results obtained up to now are promising:
 Start-up strategy has been successful,
Aqualia has finished the implementation works of since no acidification of the reactors has
AnMBR systems at two demonstration sites in been observed.
Spain:
 Chemical oxygen demand removal is
Business Park of Porto do Molle (Nigrán, Ponte- showing to be above 80%, achieving the
vedra): In the main office building, 2 m3/d of black local discharge requirements (<125 mg
water collected in a segregated pipe from WC are COD·L-1) for the treated wastewater.
being treated in an AnMBR. The start-up of the
process was carried out in March 2018.  20ºC-Standardised membrane permea-
bility reached values above 100 L·m-
Bitem WWTP (Tortosa, Tarragona) 2
·bar-1·h-1.
Three septic tanks have been retrofitted into an  After ultrafiltration, the water is disin-
AnMBR to achieve the treatment of 18 m3/d of fected (since no cells can pass through
urban wastewater. In spring 2018 the first com- the membranes) and is further reused
missioning tasks were done. for irrigation purposes, thus being a
good example of water reclamation and
The two AnMBR systems are currently being circular economy.
optimized to maximize its performance as well as  Methane content in biogas up to 80%,
its efficiency. Some of the main features of the which makes the produced biogas an
installations are shown in Table 2. interesting source to be used as renewa-
ble energy.
Table 2: Features of the two demonstration sites in Spain.
Bitem WWTP Nigrán Office Building
Capacity treatment 18 m /d3
3 m3/d
MBR configuration Submerged/Hollow Fiber Submerged/Flat Sheet
UF membrane area / pore size 61 m2 / 0,02 µm 6,25 m2 / 0,1 µm
AnMBR Volume 23 m3 3 m3
 An economic comparison has demon-
strated the profitability of AnMBR in
comparison with conventional activated
sludge treatment. CAPEX of AnMBR is
comparable to conventional treatment
costs, although OPEX is below. OPEX
savings allow a Return of Investment
lower than 3 years.
Despite some interesting references of the an-
aerobic treatment of urban wastewater in mem-
brane bioreactors at ambient temperature(1-3),
the Bitem WWTP is the first real urban
wastewater treatment plant based on AnMBR
technology. Therefore the Bitem WWTP means
a real breakthrough for the readiness and the
maturity of the AnMBR technology.
NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018 13

Figure 18: Schematic overview of the AnMBR in­

stalled in Bitem WWTP. LIT-0 = Equaliza­
tion Tank. LIT-1 = Anaerobic Reactor. LIT-A
= Membrane Tank.

(1) Giménez, J. B., Martí, N., Robles, A., Ferrer, J.

and Seco, A. (2014). Anaerobic treatment of urban
wastewater in membrane bioreactors: evaluation
of seasonal temperature variations. Water Science
& Technology 69.7, (1581-1588).
(2) Martínez-Sosa, D., Helmreich, B. & Horn, H.
(2012). Anaerobic submerged membrane bioreac-
tor (AnSMBR) treating low-strength wastewater
under psychrophilic temperature conditions. Pro­
cess Biochemistry 47 (5), 792–798.
( 3) Smith, A. L., Stadler, L. B., Love, N. G., Skerlos,
S. J. & Raskin, L. (2012). Perspectives on anaerobic
membrane bioreactor treatment of domestic
wastewater: a critical review. Bioresource Technol­
ogy 122, 149–159.

TU Delft

1. The DFCi was placed at Aqualia AnMBR
plant, located at the Business Park of Porto
do Molle office building, Nigrán, Ponteve-
dra, Spain, during March 2018. The DFCi
was connected online with the pilot, and the
software altered to assure control of the
DFCi flux and cross flow velocity.
This decrease was expected since the con-
centration of solids in the reactor increased,
namely the Mixed Liquor Suspended Solids
(MLSS) increased from 3.8 to 6.2 g L-1 during
the period considered.
Figure 21 summarises the fouling potential val-
ues obtained for anaerobic sludge from STP in
Southern Spain (AnMBR1) and Harnaschpolder
(HNP).

A) B)

Figure 19: Anaerobic DFC installation connected online to the pilot AnMBR from Aqualia (A) and connection scheme (B). Pilot located at the Business
Park of Porto do Molle office building, Nigrán, Pontevedra, Spain.

A) B)
2. Currently an online sludge filterability meas-
uring campaign is being performed at the
Aqualia AnMBR pilot located at Nigrán,
further designated as AnMBR2. During this
campaign flux enhancers will be added to
the pilot AnMBR2 in order to increase the
sludge filterability and decrease membrane
fouling, allowing to operate with a higher
flux.
Preliminary results showed an increase in the
cake layer resistance, expressed as when
comparing the start-up of the pilot and the
sludge after 4 months of operation, Figure
20. The is inversely related with filterability,
Figure 20: Results of online filterability measurements at the pilot AnMBR2 obtained after (A) 1 week and
this is, an increase in represents a detri-
(B) 4 months since the start-up of the pilot. The results were obtained by applying a flux of 60
mental effect on filterability. Therefore, the
filterability of the sludge from the AnMBR2 L m-2 h-1 and cross-flow velocity of 1.5 m s-1. is the added resistance due to cake layer
decreased during operation.
formation, is the volume of permeate obtained per square meter of membrane and
is the added resistance when 20 L m-2 of permeate are filtered.
NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018 14

The sludge from the full-scale digester at HNP

was measured during one year, the sludge from A) B)
the AnMBR1 pilot during one week, and the
sludge from Nigrán only two samples in differ-
ent days. Although the measuring campaigns
for the 3 different sludges had different lengths,
preliminary conclusions comparing the results
from the different campaigns are presented
below.
The sludge from the anaerobic digester at HNP
presented smaller fouling potential values than
those for the AnMBRs. This might be because
the membranes in AnMBRs retain smaller parti-
cles that contribute considerably to fouling,
while in the anaerobic digester the small parti-
cles are dragged outside the system by the
effluent stream. The filterability of the sludge
from the AnMBR2 is considerably higher than
the one from the AnMBR1. The wastewater fed
to the AnMBR1 presents a high content of sul-
phur, this could cause precipitation of sulphur
components that could be responsible for the Figure 21: Sludge fouling potential expressed as ΔR20 obtained with a flux of 60 L m-2 h-1 and cross-
low filterability of the sludge. Additionally, the flow velocities (v) of 1.5 m s-1. Sludge from STP, samples collected at: (A) the AnMBR1 in
MLSS concentration the AnMBR1 is higher than winter 2017; (B) the full-scale anaerobic digester at HNP during winter 2016 (W) and sum­
the one in the AnMBR2, this could also contrib- mer 2017 (S).
ute to the lower filterability in the AnMBR1.

University of Southampton
The University of Southampton continues to The sludge was fed and aerated over a week, Surprisingly cleaning with UAS and chemical
focus on improved treatment of membrane during which time samples placed in the tank cleaning significantly improved the flux to flows
fouling and fouling prevention. Membrane foul- grew natural biofouling layers. The flux through greater than the new membranes. Follow up
ing is a critical factor when considering AnMBR these fouled membranes was measured with tests are going to look at the membrane integri-
operation costs, with membrane costs and gas deionised water and then several different ex- ty after such cleaning. Mechanical cleaning re-
scouring causing over 78% of the operational situ methods of fouling removal were tested. turned the flux to approximately the same level
costs for a SAnMBR (4). The ability to minimise Fouling removal methods were UAS, water as the new membranes and a water rinse had
fouling can allow the use of less nutritionally rinse, chemical cleaning, and mechanical clean- minimal impact on membrane cleaning. Figure
dense feeds. This year ultrasonic activated ing. The water rinse was for 30 seconds under 22 shows the results of the cleaning tests. The
streams have been used to clean lab-fouled the same flow conditions as the UAS, chemical membrane on which the 60 second UAS treat-
membranes and particle-based fouling mitiga- cleaning followed manufacturer recommenda- ment was performed was an outlier in that the
tion test capability has been expanded through tions, and mechanical cleaning was achieved fouled membrane had grown an extensive
Newton-Link collaboration with researchers in with five wipes with a soft sponge. Results were amount of macroscopic fronds. Despite a large
Vietnam. normalised to the flux of new membranes. Flux increase in the flux recovery extensive fouling
was measured again with deionised water after was still present. These tests show promise that
Ultrasound has been studied many times as a the cleaning processes and the membranes UAS can effectively remove or prevent biofoul-
method for fouling removal or prevention on were sent for microscopic imaging to deter- ing layers on membrane systems.
membrane systems. The results have been mine the percentage of the membrane area
widely variable, from minimal effect to damage that could still be considered dirty.
of the membrane structure, even when the
same power is applied. Part of this variability
traces back to the fact that most systems have
not been characterised acoustically and reso-
nances can cause a 1000 fold different in acous-
tic pressure for the same applied electrical pow-
er. Another factor in the variability is the physics
of the cleaning itself. Tests in Southampton are
focusing on the adaptation of a technology call
Ultrasonically Activated Stream (UAS) (5),
which utilises non-inertial cavitation to clean at
lower acoustic pressures than many traditional
approaches. It is believed that this technology,
which has been shown to remove a variety of
biofilms, will be able to clean membranes with-
out damaging their surface.
While the ultimate goal is in-situ cleaning, initial
tests use an ex-situ ultrasonic delivery via a low
flowrate fluid stream 1 cm in diameter at 2 L/ Figure 22: Results of membrane cleaning tests. Top: The ratio of pre and post-cleaning flux to the flux
min. A series of PVDF membranes were fouled
measured from virgin membranes. Bottom: The percentage of dirty area after cleaning as determined
using return activated sludge from a local waste
treatment plant. with fluorescent microscopy.
NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018 15

In the past few months, staff at Southampton

have been setting up laboratory-scale bioreac-
tors with particle-based methods of membrane
fouling control at the National University of Civil
Engineering (NUCE) in Hanoi, Vietnam (Figure
23). NUCE were partners in a Newton Institu-
tional Link with Southampton which was linked
directly to the BioWaMet project and a joint
dissemination event is planned with BioWaMet.

(4) Lin, H., et al., Feasibility evaluation of submerged

anaerobic membrane bioreactor for municipal second-
ary wastewater treatment. Desalination, 2011. 280(1):
p. 120-126.
(5) Birkin, P.R., Offin, D.G., and T.G. Leighton, An acti-
vated fluid stream – New techniques for cold water
cleaning. Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, 2016. 29: p. 612- Figure 23: L: Hoai Son Tran of NUCE and Dr Dominic Mann of Southampton assembling reactor
618. components. R: Reactors undergoing testing.

Invitations for upcoming events/ conferences

21th to 24th October, 2018: XIII Latin American Workshop and Symposium on Anaerobic Digestion (DAAL XIII), Medellin, Colombia. Odriozola, M.,
Lousada-Ferreira, M., Spanjers, H., and van Lier, J.B. (2018), Towards an automated fouling control by addition of flux
enhancers to anaerobic sludge, accepted for oral presentation.
16th to 21th September, 2018: IWA World Water Congress in Tokyo. Aqualia will present the AnMBR technology.
Participation in past events/ conferences
June, 2017: 12th IWA Specialized Conference in Instrumentation, Control and Automation. IWA, WEF, Quebec City, Canada. Lousada-Ferreira M., Odri-
ozola M., Klocker D.S., Spanjers H. and van Lier J.B. (2017). On line filterability measurements in Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors. Poster presenta-
tion.
June, 2017: U. Southampton presented the BioWaMet project at the Seminar “Bioenergy – from Research to Market Deployment in a European
Context” held in Stockholm and organized by the Consortia of Biomass Sustaining the Future (BESTF3), ERA-Net Bioenergy, together with the Eu-
ropean Technology and Innovation Platform (ETIP) Bioenergy.
June, 2017: Presentation at Clean Carbon Showcase event by Dr Craig Dolder on the BioWaMet project. Presented at the University of South-
ampton Highfield Campus. Approximately 60 attendees from industry and academia.
June, 2017: Aqualia presented the BioWaMet project in the VI Edition of Membrane Bioreactors (MBR), organized by the University of Barcel ona.
This event is one of the most important scientific and technical meetings in the Spanish MBR sector.
June, 2017: BioWaMet presentation by Dr Craig Dolder on the Bio-Water-Methanisation consortium presented to Bioenergy and Organic Resources
Research Group plus guests and external visitors. Led to an increased awareness of collaborations to other research groups. Audience ~25 mainly
postgrad students and staff.
July, 2017: 5th IWA Young Water Professionals Benelux, Ghent, Belgium. Odriozola, M., Lousada-Ferreira, M., Spanjers, H., van Lier, J.B. (2017) Factors
impacting particle size distribution analysis of anaerobic sludge using laser diffraction. Poster and flash presentation.
17th to 20th October, 2017: IWA 15th Anaerobic digestion conference, 2017, Beijing, China Lousada-Ferreira, M., Odriozola, M., Spanjers, H., van
Lier, J.B. (2017), Quantifying fouling in Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors through filterability measurements, poster presentation.
5th to 9th September, 2017: 8th IWA Membrane Technology Conference & Exhibition for Water and Wastewater Treatment and Reuse that will be held
in Singapore. Oral communication accepted: “Optimising the filtration process in AnMBR technology for sewage treatment”.
21th to 24th November, 2017: ENEG2017, Opportunities and challenges in the water sector to tackle climate change, organized by the Portuguese
Water Association (“Associaçao Portuguesa de Distribuçao e Drenagem de Aguas”). Oral communication accepted on AnMBR technology.
November 22th ,2017, Workshop “Water management and circular economy”. Zaragoza (Spain). Presentation of AnMBR technology.
May 22th-23th 2018, Technical Course “Wastewater treatment in small villages in Aragon (Spain)”, Zaragoza (Spain). Presentation of AnMBR technology
with special focus on the Bitem WWTP (Tortosa) design.

Acknowledgements
This project is supported by the European Union’s ERA-NET Plus BESTF2 Programme, through the following national funding agencies: Centre for In-
dustrial Technological Development (CDTI, ES); Department of Energy and Climate Change, Technology Strategy Board (BBSRC, UK); NL Agency and
the Ministry of Economic Affairs (NL).

Contact: José R. Vázquez Padín

Departamento Innovación y tecnología
FCC Aqualia, SA
EDAR Guillarei
jvazquezp@fcc.es
www.aqualia.es
NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018
4. Past events:
15. Wood energy symposium (2018)
Sandra Hermle, SFOE
On September, 14th, 2018 the Swiss nation-
al wood energy symposium has taken place
in Zürich with about 230 participants. The
topic of the symposium was “Grid integra-
tion, regulations and firing technique” (see
https://www.holzenergie-symposium.ch/ -
in German).
High-level stakeholder workshop on mar-
ket barriers to advanced biofuels held
Kristin Sternberg, FNR
The H2020 ADVANCEFUEL project, coordinat-
ed by FNR, has held its first stakeholder work-
shop on 20 September in Gothenburg, Sweden,
presenting the project‘s results in identifying
the main barriers to the market roll out of ad-
vanced biofuels, as well as its investigations into
the availability and suitability of lignocellulosic
biomass for conversion into fuels.
The high-level workshop aimed to validate find-
ings with key stakeholders from the renewable
transport fuel sector. It attracted senior experts
from all sectors of the value chain, with high
participation from industry and end-users, in-
cluding representatives from Shell, TOTAL and
Volvo, as well as academic participants.
Ayla Uslu, (TNO), Ric Hoefnagels (Utrecht Uni-
versity) and Stavros Papadokonstantakis
(Chalmers University) led the discussions, with
input also from Calliope Panoutsou (Imperial
College London) and Sonja Germer (ATB). The
event was moderated by the ADVANCEFUEL co
-ordinator, Kristin Sternberg (FNR).
Discussions were very lively, with valuable feed-
back collected from the participants to
strengthen the project’s results.
The participants noted that taking part in the
workshop was a positive experience, with AD-
VANCEFUEL highlighting a number of new and
interesting issues which have not been spotted
elsewhere. The participant’s expressed their
hope that the project’s final results and recom-
mendations will be able to positively impact
Europe’s policy framework for advanced biofu-
els.
The final updated deliverables on market barri-
ers and advanced biofuel feedstocks will be
available on the ADVANCEFUEL website short-
ly.
If you would like to take part in future work-
shops, please sign up to the ADVANCEFUEL
Stakeholder Platform. The next workshop will
take place on 20-21 November in Brussels; more
details will be available soon.
Agency for Renewable Resources (FNR)
Kristin Sternberg
Tel.: +49 3843 6930-167
Mail: k.sternberg@fnr.de
DBFZ annual conference „ Energy and
Materials from biomass: competitors or
partners?“
Boris Vashev, FNR
On September 19./20. 2018 the annual confer-
ence of the „Deutsches Biomasseforschungs-
zentrum“ (DBFZ) took place in "Hôtel de Po-
logne", Leipzig, Germany. More then 200 par-
ticipants: policy makers, researchers, repre-
sentatives of funding organisations, profes-
sional associations, industry and general public
attended the conference. The conference was
opened with interesting panel discussion
where representatives of the federal and state
governments discussed on political scenarios
and the future role of the bioenergy in the po-
litical framework . The conference offered a
very brought spectrum of topics and interest-
ing sessions within the domain of bioenergy
and material use of biomass. In the session
“Material-energetic biomass utilisation - busi-
ness partners or cannibals” the improved syn-
ergetic utilisation of biomass was discussed.
Within this session a database for predicting of
amounts of residuals from the agriculture and
forestry developed by DBFZ as a planning tool
for forecasting of flows of residuals and wastes
and their potential utilisation pathways was
presented by André Brosowski (DBFZ). Based
on the database developed by DBFZ the poten-
tial of residuals from agriculture and forestry in
Germany is estimated at ca. 1000 Pj. Indeed
currently about 550 Pj are already in use ( main-
ly for energy production) there is still consider-
able amount of 450 Pj which is underutilised.
Further the chances and risks of a mobilisation
of wood in Germany for both material and en-
ergetic utilisation were discussed. The demand
for wood in the building and construction sec-
tor is expected to increase in the future but this
demand can be covered on sustainable way
mobilising the available wood stock .
16
On the other hand rejuvenation and alteration
of the German forests to mixed forest is essen-
tial to adapt to the climate change and enhance
the their productivity.
Biogas is a clean and flexible fuel however due
to the competition with other renewables
(wind, solar) which are cheaper and the future
run out of the financial support scheme for the
majority of the biogas plants in Germany will
bring new challenges for the biogas plant oper-
ators . New business models in order to keep
the existing biogas plants under operation after
2035 need to be developed. Some innovative
concepts for combined biogas and material
production within biogas plants were presented
in the session: “Biogas plants—more than only
energy production?”. Concept for improvement
of the biogas value chains and creation of added
value due to co-production of medium-chain
fatty acids (caproic (C6) and caprylic (C8) acid ),
which can be used as platform chemicals in the
chemical industry was presented by Dr. Heike
Sträuber, UFZ. Another interesting approach
for creation of new value chain using the bio-
gas plant digestate was presented by Heinrich
Katz (Hermetia Baruth GmbH). The idea behind
is, the utilisation of biogas plant digestate as
fodder for insects (black soldier fly) and grow-
ing of insect biomass reach on proteins and fats.
The concept was already proven in the joint
project Competitive insect products carried out
by Hermetia Baruth GmbH and DBFZ.
Parallel to the DBFZ conference a Forum of
experts on hydrothermal processes “HTC–
Fachforum „Hydrothermal processes for materi-
al and energetic creation of value“ was held.
The focus here was particularly put on the read-
iness of technologies for utilisation of chair coal
from sewage sludge and the possible use of
chair coal as a feedstock of high quality carbon.
The event offered the possibility of knowledge
transfer and a networking between experienced
experts and new comers and early career re-
searchers, as the closing session was opening
session of the first colloquium for PhD students
working in the domain of bioenergy in Germa-
ny, which was organised back to back.
NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018
5. Upcoming events
On October, 30th, 2018 the second national
IEA networking event will take place in
Neuchâtel (Switzerland). This year’s topic
will be on “Innovative and decentralized
solutions supporting the energy strategy
2050”. There will be keynote presentations
from IEA Headquarters in Paris as well as
from national governmental representa-
tives followed by short presentations from
different technology collaboration pro-
grams of the IEA where Switzerland is par-
ticipating.
8. November 2018, Biogas Across Bor-
ders - Conference on options and opportu-
nities for the biogas sector. Representation
of the Free State of Bavaria to the Europe-
an Union, Brussels, Belgium (Link)
Joint workshop of SEEMLA and Advance-
fuels projects, 20-21 November 2018,
Brussels, Belgium
The ADVANCEFUEL project that is coordi-
nated by FNR, announces its second stake-
holder workshop, which will be held on 20-
21 November in Brussels, Belgium.
The workshop will bring together a number
of European projects and other relevant
stakeholders, to discuss innovative ligno-
cellulosic cropping systems and supply
chains.
ADVANCEFUEL is organising the workshop
in co-operation with the SEEMLA project,
back to back with that project’s final event.
More information and joint registration to
both events is available at the following
link:
Register Now!
AGENDA
On the morning of 20 November, the
SEEMLA project will hold its final event, to
present its developed approach and other
results from the project, in the context of
the EU’s policies for advanced biofuels and
bioenergy.
On the afternoon of 20 November and the
morning of 21 November, ADVANCEFUEL
and SEEMLA will hold a joint workshop,
contributing to the ADVANCEFUEL pro-
ject’s understanding of barriers regarding
biomass supply. The event will scrutinise
innovative cropping schemes, explore the
challenges and opportunities of different
supply and value chains, and compare po-
tential business models of feedstock provi-
sioning.
17
An evening reception will be held on the after- The workshop will present results from the
project with six presentations from three
noon of 20 November, open only to those who
work packages, together with a discussion
are participating in other sessions. The full
focusing on the use of additives in waste
agenda can be accessed here. wood combustion:
1. Fuel additive design concepts for reduc-
tion of ash related problems in waste
In cooperation with: wood combustion: Results from thermo-
chemical modelling and laboratory meas-
urements
2. Waste wood and additives in large-scale
combustion plants: Results from field
measurements.
3. Waste wood combustion for bioenergy:
environmental and economic consequenc-
es of using low-cost additives to reduce
27 February - 1 March 2019, World Sus- ash-related problems.
tainable Energy Days (WSED), Wels,
Austria. (Link)
Workshop @ WSED:
Reducing ash related operational prob-
lems in waste wood combustion using
additives (REFAWOOD)
Welcome to a workshop presenting re-
sults from the ERA-NET Bioenergy pro-
ject REFAWOOD, i.e. Resource-efficient
fuel additives for reducing ash related
operational problems in waste wood com-
bustion Thursday February 28, 2019 at
the conference WORLD SUSTAINABLE
ENERGY DAYS in Wels, Austria
(www.wsed.at). The workshop presents
and discusses results from the bioenergy
project REFAWOOD lead by the project
coordinator PhD Susanne Paulrud, RISE, For further information please turn to
Sweden.
susanne.paulrud@ri.se
The overall objective of REFAWOOD is to
improve economic and environmental
conditions and enlarge the market for the
use of wood waste fuels in CHP-plants by 14-16 May 2019, 2nd International Sympo-
using resource efficient additives such as sium on Hydrothermal Carbonization, Ber-
recycled gypsum during combustion.
lin, Germany (Link). Call for Papers & Post-
ers, the abstract submission deadline will
be October 31st 12:00 midnight CET, 2018.
27-30 May 2019, 27th European Biomass
Conference and Exhibition (EUBCE 2019),
Lisbon, Portugal (Link)
12-13. June 2019, ExpoBiogaz 2019, Lille,
France
Anaerobic digestation / Power-to-Gas /
PyrogaSification / Sustainable Mobility
NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018 18

6. European Technology and Innovation Platform Support of Renewable Fuels and Advanced Bioenergy
Stakeholders 2 (ETIP-B-SABS 2)

• assistance to the European Commission

New project European Technology and Inno-
vation Platform Bioenergy – Support of Re-
newable Fuels and Advanced Bioenergy
Stakeholders 2 started in September 2018
In September 2018 started the project
“European Technology and Innovation Platform
Support of Renewable Fuels and Advanced Bio-
energy Stakeholders” 2 (ETIP-B-SABS 2) funded
through the European Research and Innovation
Programme Horizon 2020 under Grant Agree-
ment No 825179.
ETIP-B-SABS 2 will support and empower re-
newable fuel and bioenergy stakeholders’ con-
tributions to the Energy Union and, more spe-
cifically, the Strategic Energy Technology (SET)
-Plan. The European Technology and Innovation
Platform Bioenergy aims to actively engage
with these stakeholders and link their needs to
policy making of the European Commission,
and the project´s objective is to support ETIP-
Bioenergy in this task. Specific objectives are to
facilitate the following activities of ETIP-
Bioenergy:
• contributions to the SET-Plan activities
and to the Strategic R&I Implementa-
tion Plans;
• collaboration and interaction with other
relevant initiatives addressing renewa-
ble fuels, decarbonisation of transport,
bioenergy and biomass valorisation/ bio-
based value chains;
and Member States in defining research
programmes, financial instruments,
while addressing lower TRL research
needs as well as advancing close to mar-
ket technologies.
Building on a 12 years track of support to the
European Biofuels and Technology Platform
(EBTP) and the ETIP Bioenergy, the project will
aim at an increased cohesion of bioenergy and
renewable fuels stakeholders by motivating
discussion and interaction on hot topics related
to advanced and innovative bioenergy. Key
instruments to achieve this aim will be the ETIP
Bioenergy website, factsheets, reports, news-
letters and networking events at different
scales. The project will compile scientifically
sound, fact based information on technical and
non-technical bioenergy/renewable fuel issues.
The consortium consists of 5 partners from 4
countries. The Agency for Renewable Resources
(FNR) is responsible for the overall coordination
of the project. Further project partners are:
Bioenergy 2020+ from Austria, ETA Florence
Renewable Energy from Italy, INZE Iniziativa
Centro Europea from Italy and RISE Innventia
AB from Sweden.
11th annual SET Plan Conference -
20-21 November 2018 Vienna
The 11th annual SET Plan Conference will take
place on 20-21 November 2018 in Vienna. It will
be held under the auspices of the Austrian Presi-
dency of the Council of the EU.
The conference will focus on the Energy Transi-
tion in the EU by discussing its European and
international dimensions, such as the State of
the Energy Union, Mission Innovation and Ex-
ternal Dimensions as well as financial effects
and future prospects. Policy-makers and repre-
sentatives from business, science and innova-
tion, civil society and regional and local govern-
ments will offer their views and discuss solu-
tions in the Plenary Sessions.
To deepen the debate on the SET-Plan´s key
actions, four Panels will be held concerning the
following topics:
 Smart Energy Systems, Flexibility and
Storage
 Consumers & Digitalisation of the Energy
System
 Energy Efficient Buildings & Smart Cities
 Competitive and Energy Efficient Industry

• constant provision of scientifically

sound, unbiased, up to date information
on the status of the renewable fuels and
bioenergy sector

• engagement with stakeholders as to

better understand the actor perspective
and the socio-technical aspects of tech-
nology development and implementa-
tion; with a special focus on support for
outreach and engagement of actors in
the civil society
NEWSLETTER ERA-NET BIOENERGY / BESTF3 | October 2018
7. About ERA-NET Bioenergy and BESTF3
ERA-NET Bioenergy brings together national
ministries and funding agencies that support
research and development in bioenergy. In
such a European network, participants can
coordinate national research efforts and thus
achieve higher quality results, as well as a
more efficient use of their limited financial
resources. Via joint calls, innovative, transna-
tional research, development and innovation
(R&D&I) projects in the field of bioenergy
focussing on Technology Readiness Levels
(TRL) 2-5 are funded. Currently there
are eight ERA-NET Bioenergy partners: from
Austria (BMVIT), Germany (FNR), the Nether-
lands (RVO), Poland (NCBR), Sweden (SWEA),
Switzerland (SFOE) and the United Kingdom
(Innovate UK). We are happy to be accom-
panied by nine observers from Brazil
(FAPESP), Denmark (Energinet), Finland
(Business Finland), France (ADEME), Ireland
(SEAI), Spain (CDTI) and the UK (DECC;
BBSRC; EPSRC). In order to broaden the net-
work further, ERA-NET Bioenergy encourages
ministries and funding agencies from other
European countries to join the action. ERA-
NET Bioenergy has so far implemented 12
joint calls and thus contributed to the fund-
ing of 52 international R&D projects.
For further information please check our WEBSITEs or contact the co-ordinators:
ERA-NET Bioenergy
www.eranetbioenergy.net
Carina Lemke (FNR) : Tel.: +49 3843 6930 169;
René Wismeijer (RVO): Tel.: +31 (0)88 0422470;
BESTF3
http://eranetbestf.net/
Sophie Thomas (BEIS) : Tel. +44 300 068 5552 ;
Chris Young (MICROWIRE Ltd.): Tel.: +44 7970 422 901;
19
The BESTF (Bioenergy Sustaining the Fu-
ture) network of national/regional min-
istries and funding agencies (from DK, FI,
DE, ES, PT, SE, CH, UK) exists since 2012
and provides funding to collaborative
bioenergy projects that demonstrate at
least one innovative step and will result
in demonstration at a pre-commercial
stage (TRL 6-8). The added value of this
initiative is to enable the demonstration
of enhanced bioenergy technologies
which would otherwise be unable to
reach the stage of commercialisation. So
far, the BESTF network has launched
three calls and supported eight demon-
stration projects.
In order to widen the scope of the BESTF
joint Calls to support initiatives at Tech-
nology Readiness Levels 2-8, a coopera-
tion with ERA-NET Bioenergy was set up
via BESTF3. The combined ERA-NETs and
networks provide added value compared
to national funding and aligned activities
maximise effective exploitation and the
cost- and resource-efficiency of the
groups, bringing a greater opportunity
for coordination and knowledge sharing.
Supporting transnational research and
knowledge exchange eventually increases
the use of biomass in a Bioeconomy.
It is envisaged that, with the joined forces
of BESTF and ERA-NET Bioenergy, there
will be four calls and an increased num-
ber of dissemination activities in the 5
years duration of BESTF3 (until 2020).
E-Mail: c.lemke@fnr.de
E-Mail: rene.wismeijer@rvo.nl
E-Mail: sophie.thomas@beis.gov.uk
E-Mail: bestf@microwire.co.uk