Big World of Bioenergy

After a huge success in 2008, World Bioenergy is back.  The 2010 event is slated for May 25–27, and once again, the Elmia organizers have taken a three-pronged approach to maximize attendee travel dollars, with tours, conference, and trade show.  The 2008 event drew almost 4,500 highly specialized visitors from over 60 countries, with a large Canadian contingent.  Despite a slower overall economy, global interest in biomass and bioenergy means that interest in World Bioenergy 2010 will be higher still.  Visit www.worldbioenergy.com for more details.

Pre- and post-conference tours
Visitors are picked up from their flights at airports in either Stockholm or Copenhagen on May 24 and enjoy a coach tour of bioenergy sites en route to the Elmia conference centre and opening reception in Jönköping.  Following World Bioenergy, tours will stop along a different route while taking visitors back to their airports in time for evening trans-Atlantic flights.  The tours offer attendees the chance to see a bioenergy economy in action.

Conference
Three full days of business-based presentations from around the world makes it easy to justify this event to the bean counters.  Talking is often mixed with walking at World Bioenergy, as daily local facility tours are part of the program.  The 2010 themes have been selected and range from materials and uses to bioenergy policies (see sidebar for details).

Trade show
A blend of indoor booths (technology, technical experts, finance, engineering, new equipment) and large outdoor show (the big forestry and processing gear), World Bioenergy 2008 boasted over 200 exhibitors in the bioenergy field, most showing new technology and equipment.  Look to Canadian Biomass and www.canadianbiomassmagazine.ca for regular updates.

World Bioenergy themes chosen
The driving focus in 2010 is on applied and currently available technology, as well as efficient, sustainable, and economic solutions.  In brief, the focus is on bioenergy solutions that work.  Visitors can choose from the following themes, each complemented by related exhibitors and daily study tours.

1. Combined heat and power, combustion, heating and co-firing – A range of technologies and installations will be presented, not only boilers and burners, but also fuel handling, logistics, flue gas cleaning, and other support systems.  Study tours visit combined heat and power plants in the Jönköping region.
2. Forest residues – Slash, stumps, small tree harvest – World Bioenergy repeats the popular slash conference from Elmia Wood 2009.  How to recover biomass from felling and thinning operations, plus environmental effects, and ash recycling.  Learn from the Scandinavian experience.  View machinery and equipment at the exhibition, and take one of the daily excursions to see chippers working at a forest site.
3. Pellets – The new large energy commodity – Learn about market development, production technology, projects and investments, new burner technology. Take a study tour to a pellet factory.
4. Waste to energy – Waste is available in every society.  It can be used for heat and power production, and for biogas production, through fermentation or thermal gasification.  Modern combustion and cleaning methods guarantee low emissions.  Daily tours visit a waste incineration plant and biogas production units.  A pre- or post-study tour drops by a willow waste-water treatment plant.
5. Energy crops, agricultural residues, and byproducts – Sugar cane, jatropha, willow, poplar, rape seed, reed canary grass, and many other energy crops, as well as straw, manure, corn husks, bagasse, and other biomass resources show that agriculture offers great potential for bioenergy.  A pre- or post-study tour drops by a willow waste-water treatment plant.
6. Biofuels for transport – Bioethanol, biodiesel, and biogas can offer sustainable solutions.  First-generation biofuels are often much better than their reputation, and the second generation is around the corner.  But what about the economy?  A pre- or post-study tour visits a wheat-to-ethanol factory.  There are also daily excursions a to biogas production plant.
7. Policy – Making it happen – Learn how policy is stimulating the increased use of bioenergy and guaranteeing sustainability and greenhouse gas reductions.  What works best: general incentives or targets?  What kinds of standards, certifications, and criteria are needed?