Regional bioenergy markets and transitions 1.0 + 2.0

Regional bioenergy markets and transitions (RG) 1.0 & 2.0 project is the work of Task 40 members in activities from 2019-2021 and 2022-2024.

Regional Transitions 2.0 project (2022-2024)

The Regional Transitions 2.0 project aims to demonstrate that regionalization and commoditization strategies can work together in the energy transition, with the regional context playing a key role in the sustainability performance of bioenergy supply chains. The project is divided into two tasks that both focus on the regional context but differ in terms of the supply chain length.

Task 1 explores the regionalization of biobased value chains. Case studies include the integration of bioenergy communities for renewable natural gas production in Austria (TU Wien) and bio-based innovations in Central Germany (DBFZ).

Task 2 examines regional mobilization strategies for commoditized supply chains. This task includes case studies on the role of sugar depots for biorefinery supply (INL), location factors for advanced biorefineries in Europe (University Utrecht), and biofuels rollout in Sweden (RISE).

The project timeline includes the completion of five case study reports and a synthesis report, combining the individual case studies and industrial partner perspectives.

Publications RG 2.0:

Synthesis report: Regional integration and collaboration are key to the viability of bioenergy systems – A synthesis of five regional transition case studies
Case study from US: “The role of sugar depots in enabling regionalized supply with commoditized intermediates for commercial-scale biorefineries in the US” in the annex of the Synthesis report: Regional integration and collaboration are key to the viability of bioenergy systems – A synthesis of five regional transition case studies
Case study from Sweden: Cost-effective supply chain configurations for the production of bioelectro- and electrofuels- the case of Sweden
Case study from the Netherlands: Renewable fuels from biomass and hydrogen in the North Sea Region
Case study from Germany: coming soon in 2026
Case study from Austria: coming soon in 2026

Regional Transitions 1.0 project (2019-2021)

Bioenergy is an essential component of the transition towards a climate-neutral energy sector by 2050 to meet global climate targets. However, rather than a single homogenous sector, bioenergy is a complex and diverse network of regional, national and international value chains part of the larger bioeconomy. To better understand how bioenergy could develop in the context of the energy transition and development of the circular (bio)economy, experts from IEA Bioenergy Task 40 have explored possible strategies to develop sustainable biobased value chains in a regional dynamic market context. This was the core of the Regional Transitions (RT) project 1.0 which is now finalized. The focus was on feedstock supply chains and an overall synthesis paper which is available on the Task 40 website.

Publications RG 1.0: