SUSTAINABLE BIOENERGY

SOLUTIONS FOR TOMORROW

(BEST)

A public-private research program

Coordinated by CLEEN Ltd. and FIBIC Ltd.

2013-2016

What is bioenergy?

Bioenergy is the oldest known source of consumer energy, and it will continue to have

a role in the future sustainable energy system!

• Bioenergy = Use of biological sources (biomass) for energy and all the different aspects (technical, scientific, economic and social) related to it

• Biofuel = fuel derived from biological sources (sometimes used narrowly to describe liquid bio-based fuels such as biodiesel and bioethanol)

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Photo by Steve Jurvetson

BEST in a nutshell

• BEST is a pre-commercial bioenergy research program involving

both industry and academia

◦ The volume of the program: roughly 4 MEUR annually

(about 55% comes from Tekes, the Finnish Funding agency for

Innovation)

◦ The planned duration: 4 years in two phases (2013-14 and 2015-16)

◦ The second two years will be planned and focused based on the results

and knowledge created during the first two-year period

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Photo: Stora Enso Photo: Andritz Photo: MTT

BEST vision

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Biomass producers

Forest companies

Technology providers

Energy companies

Consultants and service providers

Finnish

bioenergy

ecosystem

Finnish bioenergy companies and R&D community possess the top bioenergy know-

how in the world and are able to utilize and affect the development of the operating

environment to create new sustainable bioenergy business both in Finland and

globally.

Why do we need bioenergy?

Global economic growth → growing energy

demand

Local self-sufficiency

can be supported with

bioenergy

Climate change

mitigation

Bioenergy is an essential part of the

bioeconomy concept

Excellent competence

platform; opportunity for

Finnish leadership

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BEST develops existing competences to answer

to critical developments in the operating environment

Finland already has strong know-how in e.g. forest biomass sourcing

and conversion technologies, but the big

picture is incomplete

Complexity and uncertainty of the

bioenergy business environment are

increasing

New developments (urbanization, increasing

use of new biomass sources, discussion on

sustainability issues etc.) call for new competences

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Expected impact: A strong Finnish bioenergy

sector that can boost sustainable bioenergy

opportunities both in Finland and globally

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• With the new conduct for cross-boundary collaboration the Finnish bioenergy ecosystem can develop holistic bioenergy solutions for different market environments faster, better and smarter

National ecosystem

• Increase in bioenergy business in Finland

• Enhanced capabilities for tailoring solutions according to the requirements of the export market will generate new and competitive export business

Sustainable growth

• Finland’s position as an attractive partner in the bioenergy field is even stronger

• Finland can internationally influence the sector and political decision-making related to it

International collaboration

The program projects from the current strengths

of the Finnish forest, energy and technology

sectors to the future

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CHP (combined heat and power)

generation is a competitive and

streamlined concept in Finland

Established methods allow efficient

harvesting, supply and processing of

forest biomass; other biomasses are

used only in minor quantities

The business environment has previously

been relatively stable, but uncertainty is

increasing and several political and

sustainability issues might change in the

near future

Different bioenergy concepts can be

successfully exported to new markets by

tailoring the solutions according to the

requirements of each market

Finnish companies share a common

understanding of the future bioenergy

business environment and have the

capability of not only adapting to changes

in it but also affecting them

Future status Current status

New solutions (including multi-fuel

biomass terminals) enable the flexible,

cost efficient and reliable supply of

different high-quality fuels

The 34 BEST partners include - 21 companies (forest, energy, technology, consulting...)

- 13 research organizations

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BEST research areas 2013-14

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10

Future bioenergy

scenarios and

strategies

Biomass

availability, price

and quality

Industrial

bioenergy concepts

Flexible and cost-

efficient solutions

for multi-fuel

biomass supply

chains

Understanding new

bioenergy markets

Analysis and

design of

bioenergy systems Sustainability;

health and safety

issues

Business

environment and

sustainability Biomass supply Bioenergy concepts

and markets

Structure of the program in 2013-14

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WP 0 Management

WP 2 Radical improvement of

bioenergy supply chains

WP 3 Advanced integrated

concepts and new markets

WP 1 Bioenergy

scenarios

and

strategies in

global and

local scales

WP 4 Enhanced

business

opportunities

through

securing

sustainability

Bioenergy systems and concepts & technological solutions

Policies,

strategies,

business

environment

WP 1: Understanding the future

business environment

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Key issues: Research methods: Outcome:

Competition

for biomass

Bioenergy vs.

other

renewables

Effect of new

policies

Effect of

technological

developments

A critical and

systematic summary of

existing information

Creation and analysis of

new visions and scenarios

Alternative

future

world 1

Alternative

future

world 2

Alternative

future

world n ...

A roadmap for

successful

Finnish bioenergy

business, incl.

action plans and

checkpoints

VISION

X X

X

...

WP 2: Radical improvement of bioenergy

supply chains

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Biomass

availability

and sourcing

Logistics

Measurement

technologies

Multi-fuel

biomass

terminals

Main driver:

The cost of biomass

determines the

profitability of

bioenergy

Targets: Cost-efficiency, flexibility, improved

quality and efficient information management

The new generation of biomass

terminals are in the core of the cost-

efficient, flexible and reliable

bioenergy supply chains

WP 3a: Understanding new markets

to boost opportunities for bioenergy export

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• Case areas: India, Poland,

Germany, Baltic Sea area...

• Current international patners

of the program:

◦ India: TERI, IFSON

◦ IEA Bioenergy Biomass transportation in India. Source: VTT

Main driver: A thorough understanding of new markets and their business

environment is a prerequisite for creating successful export concepts

“India is set to overtake China

in the 2020s as the principal

source of growth in global

energy demand.” -IEA

WP 3b: Urban city bioenergy concepts

Main driver: The most likely future bioenergy application

environment is a big city.

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What is the role of bioenergy and

biomaterials in future cities?

What is the potential of waste-to-energy

applications in future cities?

How should bioenergy systems be

designed and integrated in different types of urban areas?

Case

countries:

Finland,

Germany, India Mumbai

WP 4 – Enhanced business opportunities

through securing sustainability

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Goal: Creating a systematic

framework for assessing the overall

sustainability of different bioenergy

chains and solving challenges

related to them, taking into account

all the different dimensions of

sustainability:

o Economic

o Environmental

o Social

Expected business impact: A set of

approaches that companies can use

for both defensive (reactive) and

proactive sustainability strategies

Temporal dimension

(now – future)

Spatial

dimension

(global –

local)

Place in the bioenergy chain (biomass /

technology / bioenergy producer)

The basic framework for assessing the

sustainability of bioenergy. (Source: LUT)

More information / contact

• Program Manager:

◦ Kaisu Leppänen, Spinverse Ltd.

◦ kaisu.leppanen[at]spinverse.com

• Public program websites:

◦ http://www.cleen.fi/en/best

◦ http://fibic.fi/programs/best

• BEST factsheet

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The SHOK concept in brief

• CLEEN Ltd. and FIBIC Ltd. are two of the six Strategic

Centers for Science, Technology and Innovation in

Finland (SHOK). http://www.shok.fi/en/

• The SHOKs are industry-driven public-private networks

of a new type that engage in intensive and long-term

work to achieve shared goals.

• Research carried out by the SHOKs is strategic, pre-

commercial, and as a rule not associated with short-term

market goals. As the time span of the research is usually

5 - 10 years at minimum, competitors may take part in

the same programs.

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CLEEN Ltd. and FIBIC Ltd. in brief

• CLEEN Ltd. – Cluster for Energy and Environment was established in 2008

to facilitate and coordinate world class industry driven research in the field

of energy and environment. CLEEN is a wide and heterogeneous

consortium which has 45 shareholders with significant energy and

environmental related R&D activities in Finland. www.cleen.fi

• Finnish Bioeconomy Cluster FIBIC is owned by Finnish forest cluster

companies, key research institutes and universities. Its mission is to create

stronger bonds between different industrial sectors in bio-based economy,

and to encourage their research cooperation, and to generate new

innovations. FIBIC fosters development of bio-based economy by linking

companies and research organizations in joint research programs.

www.fibic.fi

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