19^th, 20^th March 2024, Brussels – the BioSFerA Consortium met at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) Delegation facilities in Brussels for a two-days event. BioSFerA (Biofuels production from Syngas FERmentation for Aviation and maritime use), is a research and innovation project receiving funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program under Grant Agreement No 884208, started in 2021 and is now coming to an end. During the past 4 years, main project objective was the development of an innovative cost-effective model for the production of advanced biofuels for sustainable transport in maritime and aviation sectors. At this stage, project partners have been called for the last General Assembly meeting of the project (19^th March) and for sharing the final research’s results to a public audience: on the 20^th of March 9:30-13 (CET). The BioSFerA final event took place with the title: “Setting the course for aviation and marine fuels for the transport of tomorrow”. The event was held in hybrid format and organized by Project Coordinator CERTH and by Environment Park, Project Communication leader with the support of CSIC partner.

The final event has seen the involvement of EU representatives, sector experts and researchers into an interactive morning session. Among them, the presence of the Advisory Board members, such as Q8 Aviation, Fly Green Alliance, Motor Oil Hellas, Athisa Biogeneración.

The morning was planned with an initial project’s presentation by Project Coordinator Konstantinos Atsonios from CERTH, followed by two panel sessions dedicated to the innovative model of waste valorisation proposed by BioSFerA and to the TRL5 scaling-up of the pilot syngas fermentation process. Here, the partners shared their project’s journey and results to the audience thanks to the representatives from partners BBEPP, CERTH, CSIC, CARTIF, ENVIPARK. Polls the presence of specialists from every step in the supply chain led to an interactive and animated the morning to involve the audience and to understand their own point of view on the general topic and on the BioSFerA’s technologies presented along the day. Low-CO2 emissions, circularity, green transports, low-prices were just some of the advantages about the sustainable fuels in transport put in evidence by the polls results. High interest was even showed on the project’s technologies, lead by the two-stage biological syngas-to-lipids fermentation.

Finally, the role of the advanced biofuels in the decarbonisation strategy of the transport sectors and the market potentiality of the BioSFerA model have been discussed during a round table with biofuels value chain players coming from industry and research. The round table was moderated by Prof. Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, head of the Environmental Biotechnology group at CSIC, and it involved the following speakers: Marilena Demetriou – Project Researcher at FincoEnergies, Maria Georgiadou – European Commission Senior Expert – Renewable energy R&I policy, Piero Valmassoi – Project Manager at Greenovate! Europe, Teemu Nevalainen – Director, Solution Development at Sumitomo SHI FW, Xander de Jong – Principle Process Engineer Research & Development at Q8Research, Leonidas Kanonis – Director for Communications and Analysis at EWABA and BioSFerA’s Advisory Board member.

A selection of pictures from BioSFerA Final Event, in order Giorgia Pellegrino – Environment Park, Pedro Acuna Lopez – Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, Maria Georgiadou – European Commission,  Xander de Jong – Q8Research.

The round table’s speakers started with a short presentation by each, then some random questions had come by the moderator and by the audience. The importance of advanced biofuels as possible solution for the energy transition in the transport sectors was highlighted, as well as the European goals of decarbonization and energy independence. The comprehensive combination of different factors, from regulations and policies, to value chain players, fuels traders and final users was evident for the uptake of biofuels in the next future. Different technological solutions are close to be market ready, even at large scale and tailored for the different aviation or maritime industries’ needs.

“I’m very glad for these years within the project in the role of coordinator” – states Konstantinos Atsonios, BioSFerA’s Project Coordinator and Project Manager at the Centre for Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH) – “In this final stage of our project’s journey, I would like to highlight the results achieved after years of research. BioSFerA project leaves a considerable legacy on the portfolio of the advanced biofuels technologies contributing to aviation and maritime decarbonization”.

COMPLETE PRESS RELEASE

The BioSFerA Consortium in Brussel, 8^th GA meeting

In this global context of energy transition, the EU-funded project BioSFerA  provides a sustainable solution for jet and bunker biofuels production. The innovative and cost-effective model in which biogenic residues and wastes are valorised to obtain high quality advanced biofuels for aviation and maritime transport represents a valid sustainable alternative to common fossil fuels.

After four years of research, BioSFerA Consortium is ready to present results and potentiality of its technology solution to the industries representatives into a final public event entitled “Setting the course for aviation and marine fuels for the transport of tomorrow”.

The BioSFerA final event will be held at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) facilities in Brussels on next 20th of March 2024.

After the introduction to BioSFerA and its technology, the role of the advanced biofuels in the decarbonisation strategy of the transport sectors and the market potentiality of the BioSFerA model will be discussed into a round table with biofuels value chain players coming from industry and research.

Let’s meet each other at the BioSFerA Final Event: REGISTRATION OPEN.
Location: CSIC’s facilities, 62 Rue du Trône 1050 Ixelles Belgium
Format: hybrid (link provided after registration)

Agenda:

09:00 – 09:15 Attendees’registration

09:15 – 09:30 Welcome and Project Overview

09:30 -10:15 Biomass and waste valorisation: innovative model for EU waste conversion

10:15 – 10:30 Coffee break

10:30 – 11:15 BioSFerA’s scaling up for jet-fuel and marine diesel production

11:15 – 12:15 Biofuels market potential and EU energy transition (round table)

12:15 – 12:30 Wrap-up and conclusions

12:30 Light lunch offered to the attendees

Event schedule has been shifted of 15 minutes, see pdf agenda below for details

Download the FULL AGENDA

BioSFerA project is approaching last months of its journey and within it, a new and important activity is closing the loop of its research.

The hydrotreatment process represents the final step of the innovative BioSFerA model, based on the combination of a gasification and double-stage fermentation process. Main objective is the upgrading of the extracted TAGs lipids into liquid biofuels. In this new technical video, two levels of research, a small-scale pilot plant (TRL3) and a TRL5 pilot plant, are showed. This is a step forwards for the production of alternative sustainable fuels for aviation and maritime transports.

Experimental activities and video have been realised by CPERI (Chemical Process and Energy Resource Institure) of CERTH (The Centre for Research & Technology, Hellas), BioSFerA project coordinator.

Even this year, BioSFerA attends to ECOMONDO, the famous international fair and exhibition on green technology held in Rimini (Italy) from 7th to 10th of November.

Ecomondo, the ecological transition ecosystem, is the place for industry, stakeholders, policy makers, opinion leaders and local authorities to meet and talk. It brings together and systemises the key elements that define the development strategies of the European Union’s environmental policy.

BioSFerA is there with the following activities:

• Workshop with EU project PYROCO2, 8 November, 2-5:30 pm, Camelia Room, 1st floor Pav. B6. An exploitation workshop on “Demonstrating sustainable value creation from industrial CO2 by its thermofilic microbial conversion into acetate”.
  Speaker for BioSFerA: Stefano Rebecchi, Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant.
  Link to the session: https://shorturl.at/hxCR0
• Poster session exhibition, 7 November, 9:30 am – 5:30 pm, Sala Tiglio pad. A6. Poster realised by Giorgia Pellegrino from Environment Park,bringing results achieved in the steam explosion tests for the TAGs lipids extraction.
  Link to the session: https://shorturl.at/aiwIP