Bioeconomy

The report Future Bioenergy and Sustainable Land Use is the first integrated study of bioenergy to explore the issue in the context of global environmental and development policy. It shows that the global sustainable potential for producing energy from biomass is significant.

Dossier - 28/11/2011

Which biomass is the best source of alternative energy?

We talk about bioenergy, but what do we actually mean? The term bioenergy refers to renewable energy produced from material of biological origin. But is the term really exact? Does it create false expectations? “Bio” is often associated with something that is ecological, environmentally friendly and clean. Perhaps “energy from biomass” would be more appropriate? It’s a bulkier term than bioenergy, but also much more neutral.

The University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Polish partner of the BalticBiomass4Value project, published a report which maps biomass value chains for improved sustainable energy use in the Baltic Sea Region countries. The research focuses on the 9 Baltic Sea Region (BSR) countries: Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, and Norway.

An outline of ideas or a proposal must be sent up until 14th May 2008.

There are some exciting developments in the expansion of bioenergy said the Baden-Württemberg Minister for Nutrition and Rural Areas Peter Hauk speaking at the conference Progress in Bioethanol Production Energy- Material- and Emission Balances.

Overview

Bioenergy

Examples of fuels produced from biomass are biomethane, renewable natural gas (RNG), biogenic hydrogen, biokerosene, biomethanol, bioethanol and higher alcohols. However, in future, care must be taken to avoid the well-documented conflict between crops used for food and those used for fuel production. The bioeconomy strategy therefore calls for only using the biomass that cannot be used for producing food. Microalgae, biowaste and residual…

Dossier - 28/04/2020

Sustainable bioenergy

Biomass from forestry and agriculture along with residues from industry and households can contribute to our energy and raw material shift. Sustainable, regenerative biomass-based energy can become part of the energy mix of the future within the framework of a bioeconomy.

Article - 18/06/2012

Bioenergy villages: biogas sets the tone

In 2011 Baden-Württemberg was home to around 37 bioenergy villages and several others are under construction or in the planning phase. Bioenergy villages produce all of their electricity and energy for heating locally from renewable resources such as maize and wood electricity is mainly generated from biogas.

Biogas experts at the University of Hohenheim believe that up to 50 per cent more energy can be achieved per hectare of cultivated energy crops. The researchers are hoping that Germanys first biogas research plant will provide them with new insights.

Article - 23/08/2016

Bioenergy from meadow orchards

A project called ”Energiebündel & Flowerpower" run by the “Netzwerk Streuobst Mössingen" has established a complex local recycling network for biomass from meadow orchards. The network involves the city of Mössingen, the neighbouring municipality of Nehren, the KFB institution for the physically disabled and their self-help work group called “Streuobst und Naturschutz”, a biogas operator from Nehren, a start-up company called Vital…

Article - 03/11/2014

Modern biogas plant in a picturesque landscape

Biogas plants have become well-known sights throughout Germany and are usually built according to standardised concepts. The biogas plant that is currently being constructed in the village of Zermatt below the Matterhorn presented the GICON Großmann Ingenieur Consult GmbH planners with a particular challenge. The geographical and climatic conditions of the area and seasonal waste variations due to seasonally fluctuating tourist numbers required…

Agricultural experts from the University of Hohenheim rate the results of the World Food Summit in Rome as very disappointing. Conference participants only agreed to short-term measures amounting to a total investment of less than 10 billion dollars.

On 19th December in Stuttgart, the state secretary of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Richard Drautz, presented the Bioenergy Competition results for the second half of 2008. The best projects are being given funding of almost one million euros.

Biogas and wood as components of the energy transition - 10/02/2020

New perspectives for bioenergy

Decentralised, controllable and stable - renewable energy is an important component in the transition to a bioeconomy without fossil fuels. BIOPRO spoke to PD Dr. Andreas Lemmer from the State Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bioenergy at the University of Hohenheim and Prof. Dr. Stefan Pelz, scientific director of the Institute for Applied Research and professorat the University of Applied Forest Sciences Rottenburg.

Article - 26/07/2010

University of Hohenheim and AVAT: innovative method for the production of biogas

Partners from industry and research have joined forces to develop an innovative method for the production of biogas. In contrast to standard methods, the chemical degradation processes will in future take place in different tanks rather than in just one. The developers hope that the separation of the processes will expedite the degradation processes, improve the quality of the individual degradation products, and enable their broad applications.…

Press release - 20/12/2011

Biotech as a driving force for environmental technology, renewable energy and sustainability

As a classical cross-sectional technology biotechnology has huge potential to develop sustainable innovations in these areas. BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH is planning to focus more and more on tapping this potential to make it useable in the areas of environmental protection and regenerative energy as well as in the cleantech sector.

Article - 16/02/2008

Bioenergy project for the reduction of greenhouse gases

The German EnBW AG and the University of Hohenheim will investigate the viability of sustainable of jatropha plants with the overall goal of reducing greenhouse gases. A contract for this particular land use has recently been signed.

Article - 30/11/2017

Biomass from algae and the wholesale market – a promising replacement for fossil raw materials

Funding renewable energies is one of the EU’s key objectives. Biomass such as algae and organic waste are particularly promising because they are not in competition with food production. Scientists at the Fraunhofer IGB in Stuttgart ferment biomass from wholesale market waste and algae. They use a cascade process to obtain valuable materials and the biogas methane. Their aim is to close material cycles and achieve high efficiency and flexibility…

Article - 08/06/2017

Forests as providers of ecosystem services – the facets and consequences of logging

One billion people worldwide rely on forests as living spaces. Illegal and legal deforestation endangers people’s livelihoods as well as social and economic structures. It also has a detrimental effect on the global climate. Prof. Dr. Daniela Kleinschmit, Professor for Forest and Environmental Policy at the University of Freiburg, discusses the causes and consequences of deforestation. She is co-editor of an international report on illegal…

On 21st November 2007 the German Minister of Agriculture Horst Seehofer and the German Minister of the Environment Sigmar Gabriel presented a strategy on Germanys climate and energy policy in the biofuel sector the Biofuels Roadmap.

Article - 28/10/2013

University of Hohenheim – a strong commitment to the bioeconomy

The bioeconomy is not only a major social challenge. It is also a complex thematic area that covers many scientific fields. The University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart has just published a strategy paper with the bioeconomy as a core topic of its research activities. Heike Laue talked with the universitys rector Prof. Dr. Stephan Dabbert about the paper.

New perspectives for bioenergy - 10/02/2020

Biogas as a component of the energy transition

Dr. Andreas Lemmer has been involved in the generation of energy from biomass for over 20 years. His employer, the State Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioenergy, runs the biogas pilot facility at Unterer Lindenhof near Reutlingen. Scientists here work under practical conditions testing new techniques.

Project BW2Pro - 29/08/2022

Biowaste to Products: biorefinery transforms biowaste into new products

In 2020, Germany’s population collected over 5 million tonnes of biowaste. Most of this was composted, and some was fermented into biogas. Scientists in Baden-Württemberg think there's room for more. Within the project ‘Biowaste to Products’ (BW2Pro) they want to transform biowaste into new products in a biorefinery. The idea is to produce biodegradable plant pots, mulch material, fertilisers, enzymes and biobased plastics in addition to…

The research project RUN (Rural Urban Nutrient Partnership) explores how waste might be used more efficiently as a resource. In this project, Veronika Fendel investigates how recyclable materials from biowaste and domestic wastewater can be fed back into the material cycle in the best possible way.

Press release - 21/01/2010

Driving cars with biogas produced from biological waste

The ETAMAX research project brings together partners from research, the energy sector and industry and is aimed at using a combined, modular process to produce biogas from low-lignocellulosic waste such as supermarket waste and micro-algal biomass, at the same time as closing all substance cycles. The regenerative biomethane will be used to fuel a small fleet of gas-driven vehicles.