industry
NEWS Biomass conference brings German, American companies together Attendance at the 4th German American Renewable Energy Conference in Syracuse, N.Y., which focused on forging partnerships between German bioenergy companies and American corporations and research facilities, was “overwhelming,” according to Sebastian Göres, manager of consulting services for the German American Chamber of Commerce Inc. in New York. Göres said planners expected 100 people to attend. However, 250 people registered to hear 14 speakers talk about the U.S. and German biomass markets and technologies. Attendees from the nearby community of Auburn, N.Y., in particular, were interested in the case study about Jühnde, a village in Germany. According to a USDA report,
Jühnde uses a biorefinery to process methane gas from cow manure and garden waste to produce more than its entire electricity consumption. In a 2004 referendum, residents of Auburn created the Auburn Public Power Agency, which plans to use waste and manure from nearby dairy operations to produce electricity, according to the city’s Web site. In addition to the one-day conference, Göres said “the whole week was packed with meetings because the American companies that we contacted were highly interested,” he said. U.S. companies met with representatives from Bekon Energy Technologies GmbH & Co. KG, Biopower Renewable Energy Inc., EnviTec Biogas AG, EOil Automotive & Technologies GmbH,
Lahmeyer International GmbH, Nörr Stiefenhofer Lutz, and Vikat Energiesysteme GmbH. The meetings were facilitated by the German American Chamber of Commerce in partnership with a group dubbed “The Green Team,” which includes representatives from Syracuse area civic, governmental and educational institutions. The conference was sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, and supported by the German Energy Agency and Ecofys Germany. “We would love to have another one [that focuses on biomass],” Göres said. “It was one of the most successful conferences we have had.” -Ryan C. Christiansen
Swedish ethanol producer Sekab Group said it intends to start construction of a demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in early 2009, which would scale up the technology that it has been testing in its pilot plant since 2004. The demo-scale plant would continue to use the softwood feedstock being used in the pilot plant. However, Anders Fredriksson, vice president of Sekab BioFuels & Chemicals, said the company plans to use Brazilian sugarcane bagasse in the future. “We see a lot of competition developing for woody material,” he explained. The new plant will be built with full-size components but have a limited capacity of 5,000 tons per year (1.7 MMgy). The technology is based on acid hydrolysis, Fredriksson said. “We have tried enzymes, but it is still too expensive.” In late May, Sekab announced it will be supplying Sweden with the world’s first verified sustainable ethanol. The company has been developing a framework for sustainability with its Brazilian sugarcane ethanol suppliers for the past 18 months. Not only have they focused on environmental sustainability in this framework, but they have also addressed working conditions, labor laws and wages. Initially, harvesting is required to be at least 30 percent mechanized and is expected to increase to 100 percent by 2014. The criteria call for at least an 85 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions compared with fossil fuels. “This initiative for verified, sustainable sugarcane ethanol is the first of its kind in the world, and a major step in the right direction for speeding the replacement of today’s petrol and diesel,” Fredriksson said. “The criteria will gradually be developed over the coming years
PHOTO: SEKAB GROUP
Sekab to scale up cellulosic ethanol plant
Sekab’s pilot-scale cellulosic ethanol plant
and synchronized with coming European Union regulations when these are in place.” Sekab imports 200,000 tons of ethanol from Brazil each year (67 MMgy), supplying nearly 90 percent of the Swedish ethanol market. The company produces ethanol using black liquor waste from the pulp and paper industry in a facility that began producing ethanol in the 1940s. -Susanne Retka Schill
8|2008 BIOMASS MAGAZINE 17