Motivation and research question

In the IEA Bioenergy Task40 project, we focus on the role of infrastructures and markets for the sustainable, affordable and reliable provision of biomass. Over time, we shifted our focus from international bioenergy trade to integrated supply networks in the context of the circular bioeconomy. Our central question was: What exactly is the added value of coordinated and coherent, joint planning of supply structures for food, materials, bioenergy, and other renewable energies?

Initial situation/status quo

The topics of Task40 in the 2010s were international supply chains, the trade in biomass and, above all, markets for wood pellets and biofuels. The supply chain perspective and expertise remained our main focus in recent years. However, we increasingly focused on locally available, low-value biomass resources and their sustainable use. At the same time, the realization grew that linear value chains are not sufficient to leverage the potential of the bioeconomy, which revealed the need for flexible, integrated networks.

Project content and objectives

In order to promote a new strategic direction of the task, we, as the Austrian delegation, launched the Bioeconomy Synergy Initiative. With the BioSyn Initiative, we tried to capture synergies between bioenergy, ecosystem services and bio-based value chains. Our goal was to analyze the consequences of greater system integration, quantify synergy effects and identify possible risks. In addition, innovative technologies and assessment approaches were developed to adapt bioeconomy systems to the requirements of sustainability and climate protection.

Methodological approach

Our initiative combined systemic and process engineering approaches, supported by interdisciplinary workshops, case studies and scientific publications. We placed particular emphasis on developing new assessment frameworks for integration dynamics and analyzing technologies such as biorefineries and networks for biomass resources. Our methodology was based on close cooperation with international IEA Bioenergy Tasks, other IEA Technology Collaboration Programs and Horizon Europe projects.

Results and conclusions

With the BioSyn initiative, we want to initiate a paradigm shift in the assessment of bioeconomy systems. We were able to show that system integration not only increases efficiency and enables new resource flows, but also ensures the reliability and durability of sustainable supply structures and creates social added value. Our results make it clear that technical, social and organizational bioeconomy innovations can form the basis for flexible and integrated value-creation networks. At the same time, we recognized the need not to ignore risks of integration, such as cascading errors.

Outlook

•       Our results show that promoting expertise in integration impact assessment is crucial for successfully planning complex bioeconomy systems and integrated energy and climate plans. Experts need an understanding of material and non-material resource flows and their interactions in integrated networks. National and international strategies must aim to optimize the resilience and synergies of bio-based systems. Building appropriate skills and developing robust assessment frameworks are crucial to realizing the social and technological added value of the bioeconomy.