Biomass Sourcing and Cross-Sectoral Utilization Strategies for Achieving Climate Neutrality in Europe

Achieving climate neutrality targets requires consideration of biomass sourcing and utilization strategies. As biomass is commonly considered a carbon-neutral feedstock in the energy sector and the chemical industry, it could help both sectors achieve their climate targets.  The projected demand in these areas varies in the literature and cross-sectoral perspectives are rarely considered. Furthermore, the potential for additional supply in Europe is rather limited, which necessitates careful planning of future sourcing and particularly utilization pathways.

This work aims to develop viable scenarios for biomass sourcing under different sectoral demand scenarios with the goal of achieving climate neutrality in Europe by 2050. The scenarios we discuss are based on a review of the relevant literature and extrapolation of demand based on current demand levels. We focus on assessing trade-offs between usage in energy and chemical industry scenarios in terms of carbon emissions, taking into account alternative decarbonization pathways for sub-sectors, in particular for phasing out biomass from heat generation. Additionally, we compile supply scenarios from the literature to establish guidelines for total available biomass quantities.

We aim to base this work on openly available data and we are committed to taking an open source approach regarding any relevant data generated during the research process.  The proposed scenarios provide a foundation for future model based research and inform policy decisions on subsidizing the allocation of biomass resources for attaining climate neutrality.