Avebiom and CIRCE will promote the development of agrobiomass by the hand of manufacturers, installers and new entrepreneurs.

The Spanish Association of Biomass Energy Recovery (Avebiom) and CIRCE are participating in the European project AgroBioHeat, which aims to promote the expansion of the thermal use of agrobiomass (straw, agricultural prunings, olive pits, almond shells or energy crops, among others) in the European Union.

A consortium of 13 partners from nine countries are participating in this initiative, which has just started with a first meeting in Thessaloniki (Greece). Avebiom and CIRCE face the objective of changing the current paradigm, in which a resource with such a high potential as agrobiomass is, however, very little used.

The AgroBioHeat project aims, in this sense, to promote actions in which biomass installers, boiler manufacturers, agro-industries, associations and municipalities, among other institutions, can get involved. To this end, Avebiom and Circe will identify, accompany and advise companies and entities in the development of two specific projects in Spain.

Locating initiatives

Avebiom is responsible for locating initiatives of interest in our country and trying to get them off the ground to promote the use of agrobiomass. 

All this in collaboration with Circe, which has a lot of experience in this type of agrobiomass projects,” said Pablo Rodero, who is in charge of the project on behalf of the Association. “We will accompany them until the end of the project and will help them to overcome barriers and solve technical doubts that may arise,” he added.

Daniel García, CIRCE researcher, explains that AgroBioHeat has multiple lines of action. “We have to promote technologies capable of using agrobiomass with guarantees at fairs and other events, we have to bring potential promoters closer to the facilities that are already in operation and we have to try to convince public opinion that this biomass can be used in a way that is as safe and environmentally friendly as forest biomass,” he argues.

Facilitating the use of biomass and its utilization

Both agree on how the project aims to act on an imminent threat that could limit the use of agrobiomass.

As they point out, the current Ecodesign Regulation, which will come into force in January 2020, imposes very strict emissions limits on pellet and wood chip boilers of less than 500kW. And it is expected that during 2021, in the revision of the Ecodesign Regulation, the limits will be extended to other types of biomass. 

AgroBioHeat intends to act in this sense, facilitating the committee in charge of drafting the revision of the feasible limits of emissions with different types of agrobiomass, so that the regulation does not put an end to the development of heat generation with agricultural biomasses.

Avebiom and Circe will make a selection of technologies and facilities to be used for testing and measurements, as well as new initiatives with agrobiomass to be promoted. There will be two in Spain, although other partners will promote up to a total of six other initiatives in Greece, Croatia, Romania, France and Ukraine. The project activities, financed by the European Horizon 2020 Program (agreement 818369), started on January 1 and will last for three years.