Workshop for industrialists: Exploring bioenergy systems to 2050 and beyond

Bioenergy and biofuels are key renewable technology options in the UK, which are currently used and are targeted for future development by the government in Westminster to help achieve its net-zero targets. Biomass resources can be used to deliver a wide range of low-carbon vectors such as bioheat, biopower, transport biofuels and bioproducts, including biochemicals that can be used to displace petrochemicals.

The Supergen Bioenergy Hub, the UK’s leading biomass and bioenergy research consortium, will be facilitating a series of workshops across the UK to evaluate the potential, the changing role and the challenges of bioenergy deployment to 2050 and beyond. The workshops will seek to engage with bioenergy, energy system and climate change experts from academia, industry, policy and wider stakeholders to assess:

• What forms of bioenergy and biofuels the UK will require over the timeline to 2050 and beyond?

• How big does the contribution from bioenergy and bioproducts need to be for the future UK energy system and bioeconomy?

• What and how much biomass will be needed and how will this change?

• What technologies and processes should be prioritised and how will that change over the timeline to 2050 and beyond?

• What are the tipping points that will enable scale-up of sustainable bioenergy deployment?

The workshops will provide a valuable opportunity for engagement across the sector and the findings will be published as a research output and reported directly to UK policymakers.

Agenda

10.00 – 10.30 Registration and coffee

10.30 – 10.45 Introduction

10.45 – 12.15 Workshop activity 1: Back casting

12.15 – 13.00 Lunch break

13.00 – 14.00 Workshop activity 2: System dynamics

14.00 – 14.30 Feedback and discussion

14.30 – 14.45 Wrap-up and next steps