WOOD BIO CONFERENCE

Known as the educational event for the wood bioenergy industry—including industrial wood pellets, biomass power, biofuels, in-woods chipping, and raw material procurement sectors the Wood Bio Conference is back for 2022 in Atlanta, Ga. After weathering the beginning ripples of what would become the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the ’22 Wood Bio Conference is going to be a coming out party of sorts. The industry has fought right alongside the world to muscle through these unprecedented times, and the magazine staff as worked tirelessly to produce a lineup of keynoters and exhibitor sponsors that will represent all of the leading players for this year’s seventh iteration of the event.

Speakers will address a range of topics, and bring perspectives from all over the globe, on the status and future supply of timberlands, to the latest in global industrial wood pellet production and trade, to the developing practices and policies behind it all.

As always, the conference will also feature breakout sessions with numerous technical presentations covering raw materials, quality control, air emissions treatment, advanced wood energy products and project development. Approximately 70 equipment and technology exhibitors will be stationed around the Grand Ballroom North.

As the saying goes, “The Future Is Bright!” and there will be no better way to celebrate it than at the seventh Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo!

Harold Arnold, President, Fram Renewable Fuels

Over the past years the wood pellet industry has evolved, and there have been many changes in the present markets in Asia and Europe and there will be changes in the future markets. This presentation addresses these timelines and developments from the point of view of one of the first producers and exporters of industrial wood pellets in the U.S.

Pedro Campilho, Principal, Bioenergy Consulting, AFRY The conversion of coal power stations to biomass presents a real opportunity to phase out carbon intensive energy generation and transition to carbon neutral energy systems. With the addition of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology such projects can become a game changer in the ambition to reach the goal of net zero carbon societies as BECCS projects can deliver real net negative emission profiles, balancing other sectors with decarbonization constrains. A diligent assessment of the availability of sustainable biomass fuel resources, of the suitability of available technology routes, of capital and operating cost requirements, of the availability of suitable CO2 storage options and of their economic viability are a prerequisite for developing and implementing successful and sustainable BECCS projects.

Amanda Hamsley Lang, COO & Vice President of Client Services, FORISK Consulting

Amanda discusses the implications of timber supply trends on local markets, with impacts from mill capital investments. It includes updates on announced mill openings and expansions and potential impacts of these on timber and residual supplies moving forward. The presentation also provides an update on timber market dynamics and how these impact wood demand and timber supply. In addition, the talk includes a discussion of forest carbon offsets.

Peter Madden, President and CEO, U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities is the forest sectors venture specialist. The Endowment collaborates with public and private sector partners to advance systemic, transformative and sustainable change for the health and vitality of the nation’s working forests and forest-reliant communities. It invests deliberately in carefully chosen significant projects

16 Wood Bioenergy / February 2022

and sticks with them until through the desired results. Partnerships are essential to achieve big outcomes and the Endowment revels in being “bridge builders.” It embraces risk and takes pride in tackling what others can’t or won’t. When possible, it favors market-based approaches to drive outcomes. The Endowment has invested more than $20 million to prove out the commercial viability of producing bioenergy with the torrefaction of woody biomass to benefit restoration thinning efforts in the Northwest. The Endowment works with partners to understand mine reclamation efforts utilizing biochar and the possibilities of carbon capture and storage. The Endowment has partnered with AFRY to advance the knowledge-base of the cost structure and challenges of transforming domestic coal-fired power plants to utilizing bioenergy.

Thomas Meth, Chief Commercial Officer and Co-Founder, Enviva

Sustainable biomass is the only renewable energy source that provides vital dispatchable power and heat today. But as we look to the future, it will continue to expand into new applications such as decarbonizing heavy industry. Heavy industry is the hardest sector to abate for net zero. Woody biomass can serve as a replacement for fossil fuels in cement, lime and steel production. Woody biomass can also play a huge role in the Net-Zero Solution. Woody biomass can supply much-needed negative emissions technology through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage.

Tyler Player, President, Player Design, Inc. PDI has successfully produced steam exploded wood pellets in its Ashland, Maine facility on behalf of Active Energy Group. The reactor design, overall process setup, and fuel analysis will all be discussed. AEG has announced a new facility in Ashland to produce 70,000 tons per year of steam exploded pellets and is actively seeking partners to replicate the operation elsewhere.

William Strauss, President and Founder, FutureMetrics

Global trade in wood pellets used as a replacement for coal for power generation (industrial pellets) will be about 23 million metric tons in 2021. England, Western Europe, Japan and South Korea are the major importers. The world’s largest exporter is the U.S., projected at 8 million tonnes in 2021. Yet the U.S. uses zero tonnes in U.S. power generation stations. This presentation provides an overview of the global markets including a discussion of the policies that support the use of pellet fuel and the potential for use in the U.S. It also discusses the carbon benefits of displacing coal with sustainably produced pellet fuel and the potential for carbon negative power generation with the use of bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS). The presentation also addresses advances in thermal treatment technologies (torrefaction and steam explosion) that produce a solid fuel that has handling and storage characteristics similar to coal.

Matt White, Executive Vice President, North America Operations, Drax White leads the North America segment of the UK-based company that has defined the new generation of wood-fueled electricity, carbon emissions reduction and carbon capture. White will address the evolving North America operations as they continue to increase the supply of wood pellets to the power station in North Yorkshire, England. Drax developed and started up three large-scale wood pellet plants in the Southern U.S. and is currently building three satellite pellet mills in the South; and through its purchase of Pinnacle in 2021 Drax added nine pellet plants in Canada and two in the Southern U.S.

With more to be announced, the following companies are signed to support the conference at one of three levels—gold, silver, bronze—and will have materials and more out in their respective booths.

Biomass Engineering & Equipment Cogent Industrial Technologies • Dürr Systems Hatton-Brown Publishers • KraftPowercon Sigma Thermal • Timber Products Inspection TSI • Veneer Services

Arkema-ArrMaz • BID Group • Brunette Machinery Casey Industrial • Con-Vey • CV Technology • Fagus Grecon Finna Sensors • Hansen-Rice • Hexas Biomass Hurst Boiler & Welding • LDX Solutions • MoistTech NESTEC • Player Design • SonicAire

Bandit Industries • Continental Conveyor Crow Engineering-Miloptic • Evergreen Engineering Flamex • Laidig Systems • Matros Technologies Mid-South Engineering • PRD Tech • Precision Husky Schaeffer’s Specialized Lubricants • Search North America Tanguay • West Salem Machinery

February 2022 / Wood Bioenergy 17