LTO Nederland believes that the proposed green gas blending obligation offers insufficient certainty that new production capacity will be added in the Netherlands. The organization wrote this in its contribution of August 12 to the online consultation on the ministerial regulation, which closed a day later. LTO supports the cabinet's ambition to substantially…
On August 12, the work vessel Kratt was christened at the Baltic Workboats shipyard on the island of Saaremaa. It is the first large work vessel of the Estonian State Fleet to run on biomethane, supplemented by a battery pack for electric propulsion. Starting in the autumn, the ship will lay and maintain buoys, monitor waterways, support marine research, and…
Raw material and auxiliary material from the same waste stream in new Argentine research. Researchers from Argentina have used pruning waste to create the carrier material for a catalyst that breaks down plant fibers into usable chemical building blocks. With this, the raw material and the auxiliary material come from the same source for the first time: plant-based residue. The study was published on August 12 in the…
The European Commission has approved two Dutch support schemes for the production of sustainable aviation fuel. Together, the schemes have a budget of 290 million euros. A notable aspect of the decision is the choice to support only those production routes that have been the hardest to get off the ground so far, including advanced biofuel from residual streams. The schemes target…
The chemical industry still produces its main raw materials almost entirely from natural gas and naphtha, a product of petroleum. What is needed to replace that basis is outlined in a study published by DECHEMA on July 20. The German Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Association conducted the research for the research agency IREES, and examined…
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has launched a new interactive map that provides insight into the sustainable technical potential of biogas and biomethane worldwide. According to the accompanying analysis, nearly 900 billion cubic meters of biogas can be produced annually from existing organic waste streams, enough to cover over 20 percent of current global gas demand. The map…
The underground gas networks at Axel in Zeeland and Ossendrecht in North Brabant were connected at the end of July. Grid operator Gasunie reports that the connection provides additional transport capacity for green gas, giving existing and new producers more room to supply sustainable gas to the network. According to the company, this will bring more domestically produced…
More and more municipalities in Europe are requiring residents to collect their vegetable, fruit, and garden waste separately. This growing stream of bio-waste needs to be processed somewhere, and this involves a choice that receives relatively little attention: opting for one large, central processing plant, or for smaller facilities close to the source. Researchers from the French institute SayFood published on 24…
The Council of the European Union has published a discussion paper on scaling up the European biotechnology sector. The document, drafted by the TRIO Presidency and dated 24 July, serves as the basis for a discussion within the Competitiveness and Growth Working Group on 7 September in Brussels. The central question is which policy and regulatory instruments are needed…
On 17 July 2026, the European Commission presented its long-awaited proposal for the revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). The proposal establishes the legal framework for Phase 5 of the system, which runs from 2031 to 2040, and aligns with the European goal of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2040…
Elevion Group has signed an agreement to fully acquire the Italian biogas and biomethane specialist BTS Biogas. The Amsterdam-based company, part of the Czech energy group ČEZ, is buying all shares of BTS Holdings Italy from the American BTS Bioenergy Europe. The deal still needs to be approved by the Italian competition authority and energy regulator. BTS Biogas builds…
Axens has announced the start of the ERA project, which stands for Ethanol to Refuel Aviation. The French technology company calls it the first industrial facility in France to produce sustainable aviation fuel from advanced bioethanol. The plant is scheduled to become operational in 2030. The facility will have a planned capacity of 50.000 tonnes of SAF per year. A definitive…
The online consultation on the Biomass Sustainability Decree has closed. Parties could respond to the proposal for uniform sustainability requirements for bio-based raw materials in the construction and chemical sectors up to and including July 13, 2026. Until now, no uniform standard applied to these sectors, or the rules varied by application, even when concerning the same raw material stream.
The Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) signed a cooperation agreement on July 9 with four European networks representing the regional side of the bioeconomy. These are the European Forest Institute (EFI), the European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN), the European Regions Network for Innovation in Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ERIAFF)…
The Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC), together with its members, has published a new study on the European market for biobased products. The conclusion is clear: there is no lack of technology or ambition, but rather a regulatory framework that actually stimulates demand for these products. It is the first time that BIC has provided such substantiation…
Two Ukrainian agricultural companies have announced plans for the construction of four new biomethane plants. The joint investment amounts to over 43,7 million euros. It is one of the larger private investments in the Ukrainian biomethane sector since the country first exported biomethane to the European Union in 2025. The majority of the money comes…
The Cabinet decided on July 10 not to finance the second phase of the National Growth Fund Programme BioBased Circular. The decision follows the advice of the National Growth Fund Committee and means that the reserved 236 million euros will not be converted into a final allocation. BioBased Circular had planned for the follow-up phase, running from…
A consortium of fourteen European parties will be working over the coming years on a new generation of high-performance bio-based plastics based on polylactic acid, better known as PLA. The project, named SUPREME-PILOTS, started in Zaragoza in June 2026 and is funded by the European research program Horizon Europe. Coordination is handled by the Spanish technology center…
Researchers in Japan have developed a new type of bio-based plastic that outperforms polyethylene and polypropylene, two of the most widely used plastics in the world, in terms of tensile strength and elasticity. The material is made from non-edible plant oils, amino acids, and sugars, and is also chemically recyclable. The findings have been published in the scientific journal JACS…
The Biomassafeiten.nl newsletter for June 2026 has been sent to everyone who signed up. This edition brings together the most important news of the past month, focusing on developments regarding biomass, bio-based raw materials, bioenergy, and the broader bioeconomy. In June, it was clearly visible how broadly the role of biomass is now viewed. The articles…
European biomethane production grew by 17 percent over the past year. At the end of June 2026, installed capacity stood at 8,2 billion cubic meters per year, more than 1 billion cubic meters higher than a year earlier. This is evident from the European Biomethane Map, an annual survey by the European Biogas Association (EBA) and Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). The…
The Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) published its annual report for 2025 on 30 June. This public-private partnership between the European Union and the Bio-based Industries Consortium funds projects that help scale up the European bio-based industry. By the end of 2025, the program supported a total of 220 projects, of which 88 were ongoing, and 30 had just started…
The legislative proposal for the green gas blending obligation has been formally taken into consideration by the House of Representatives. The proposal and the accompanying documents are now public, and the Committee on Climate and Green Growth has set the submission deadline for the report for July 2, 2026. On June 24, Members of Parliament already held a roundtable discussion with experts on…
In 2025, 22,7 percent of total energy consumption in the Netherlands came from renewable sources. A year earlier, this was 20,2 percent. Total renewable energy consumption rose to 401 petajoules, eleven percent more than in 2024, while total energy consumption fell to 1.767 petajoules. This is evident from preliminary figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics…
Limburg-based Vertoro has completed the first closing of a €17 million Series B financing round. The company, based at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen, converts plant-based residues into a renewable oil that can replace fossil raw materials in fuels and chemicals. With the capital, Vertoro aims to take the next step in scaling up…
Degraded soil and underutilized biomass can contribute to healthier ecosystems and stronger rural economies. This is stated by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) in a publication dated June 16, released around the International Day against Desertification and Drought. According to the consortium, various European-funded projects demonstrate how biobased solutions can contribute to land…
A European research consortium presented the results of the TITAN project, a Horizon Europe project that directly converts biogas into hydrogen and solid carbon, during a closing conference in Brussels. This approach can offer biogas producers an additional revenue stream, particularly in locations where connection to the gas grid is expensive or technically difficult. Biogas consists largely of…
Biomass is considered a renewable feedstock for fuels and chemicals, but the material naturally contains too much oxygen to be directly usable. Before valuable molecules can be made from it, some of that oxygen must be removed, and catalysts are needed for this. In doing so, the industry often still relies on scarce precious metals such as platinum and…
The Cabinet is introducing a market-wide capacity mechanism to prevent the Netherlands from having insufficient electricity in the long term when solar and wind produce little. This could work out favorably for controllable bioenergy, as the new system rewards exactly what biomass and biogas plants do well: supplying power at the moment it is needed. Minister Van…
The European chemical umbrella organization Cefic wants the European Commission to introduce mandatory minimum shares for the use of bio-based raw materials in products. According to the organization, without such targets, insufficient market demand will be generated to scale up investments in the European bioeconomy. In a series of policy proposals, Cefic writes that the industry needs a…
Residual streams from industrial fermentation could potentially serve as a raw material for the production of mycoprotein. This is evident from research in which scientists tested whether the nutrients in a liquid residual stream from an existing fermentation process can be reused for the cultivation of fungal biomass. Mycoprotein is a protein-rich food ingredient made using fungi and is considered an alternative to…
The European Commission has launched three initiatives to accelerate the implementation of the European bioeconomy strategy. The most concrete component is a new alliance that aims to gather €10 billion in purchasing commitments from major European buyers of biobased products by 2030. The bioeconomy encompasses all economic activity based on biological raw materials from land…
Ukraine intends to increase biomethane production in the coming years. Biomethane is purified biogas that resembles natural gas in properties and can be fed into the gas grid. The Ukrainian Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture expects production to reach approximately 150 million cubic meters by the end of 2026. According to the ministry, demand from…
On June 24, a meeting will take place at the European Parliament in Brussels on the question of how Europe can strengthen its chemical industry with sustainable chemistry. The program is titled “Reindustrialising Europe Through Sustainable Chemistry: From Crisis to Opportunity” and is organized by the Amsterdam-based materials company Avantium together with MEP Jeannette Baljeu of the…
Sectors that are difficult to electrify, such as aviation, shipping, and the chemical industry, remain dependent on liquid fuels with high energy density. To make these sustainable, three routes are typically considered: advanced biofuels from waste streams, synthetic e-fuels from hydrogen and captured CO2, and continued use of fossil fuels combined with negative emissions elsewhere…
A broad coalition of green gas producers, grid operators, provinces, financial institutions, and energy suppliers has called upon the House of Representatives by letter to expedite the legislative proposal for the green gas blending obligation. The signatories fear that the consideration and vote in both Houses will take so much time that implementation as of January 1, 2027, will have to be postponed after all, and…
Companies and other stakeholders can respond to the Biomass Sustainability Decree. That decree must establish how companies demonstrate that the bio-based raw materials they use in the construction and chemical industries are sustainably produced. Bio-based raw materials can replace fossil raw materials in these sectors, thereby contributing to a climate-neutral and circular economy. At the same time, their production can…
Sustainable Biomass Program links greenhouse gas calculation to existing chain data The Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) has launched a calculation tool that enables companies with an SBP certificate to calculate and report their greenhouse gas emissions in the biomass chain. The GHG Calculator retrieves its data from the Data Transfer System, the system in which SBP shares information about certified biomass throughout the chain…
Biobased materials are primarily discussed in Europe in the context of climate and circularity. The Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) places a different emphasis in a new report. The trade association points out the value of these materials for defense, aerospace, and security, and thereby for Europe's strategic independence. Materials from biomass can reduce dependence…
The plant-based synthetic material PEF is being investigated for use in bedding, pillows, mattresses, and furniture upholstery. Chemical company Avantium from Amsterdam is doing this together with Heynen Systems from Lelystad, a specialist in technical textiles. Until now, the material, which is being marketed under the brand name releaf, was primarily mentioned as an alternative to PET in bottles and…
The chemical industry cannot do without carbon. It is found in virtually everything the sector produces: plastics and coatings, adhesives and solvents, fibers, cleaning products, and medicines. Currently, that carbon comes largely from oil, gas, and coal. Therefore, anyone wishing to make the chemical industry more sustainable cannot limit themselves to energy. The sector also has other…
The Netherlands and Brazil want to collaborate more closely on green hydrogen, bio-based raw materials, and a cleaner industry. Together with the Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth, TNO is investigating where the greatest opportunities lie. The goal is not only to exchange knowledge but, above all, to set up concrete projects between companies from both countries. The pressure…
The Cabinet is working on an electricity capacity market to ensure sufficient capacity remains available at times when solar and wind power supply little electricity. Fully coal-fired power plants cannot participate in this, writes Minister S. van Veldhoven-van der Meer of Climate and Green Growth in response to parliamentary questions from CDA MP Henk Jumelet. Other forms of controllable…
For years, the Netherlands held a firm place on the European energy map as a natural gas country. Following the end of gas extraction in Groningen, attention is shifting to a new role for the existing gas system. No longer exclusively as a carrier of fossil gas, but increasingly as infrastructure for green gas from manure, waste, and organic residues. The ambition…
The Green Elephant Alliance was launched during the European Biomass Conference & Exhibition. In this new collaboration, organizations are joining forces that aim to reduce the use of fossil raw materials. They focus on bio-based raw materials for fuels, chemicals, and materials. At the presentation, Peter Berben of ChemistryNL handed over an investment brochure to Rogier van Tooren on behalf of the alliance…
The European Commission wants to make farmers less dependent on expensive and imported fertilizers. In the new Fertiliser Action Plan, presented on 19 May 2026, Brussels links short-term support for farmers to a broader change of course. Bio-based fertilizers, digestate from fermentation, and recovered nutrients from residual streams are to play a greater role. High prices are affecting farmers…
Japanese researchers have modified blue-green algae that produce and excrete fatty acids through photosynthesis. These fatty acids can serve as a feedstock for biofuels, including sustainable aviation fuel and diesel alternatives. In science, blue-green algae are called cyanobacteria. They are not true algae, but photosynthetic bacteria. The study was published in Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts. Harvesting makes algae fuels expensive. Blue-green algae are already considered…
European rules for sustainable aviation fuel may steer producers toward routes that are more expensive and require more energy than necessary. This is the conclusion of researchers from the Swedish Chalmers University of Technology in a new study on fuels derived from solid biomass residues, including residues from forestry. According to them, current regulations do not align well with the most efficient…
Paper has been considered an attractive alternative to plastic packaging for years. However, the switch is difficult in practice, especially for food. Paper must protect products against moisture, grease, and oxygen, seal well, and run smoothly through existing packaging lines. New packaging concepts with bio-based coatings are intended to help with this. UPM Specialty Materials, Michelman, and BOBST present two…
The European bioenergy sector wants Brussels to anchor biomass, biogas, biomethane, and biofuels more firmly in new energy policy. Trade association Bioenergy Europe believes that these forms of renewable energy are too often viewed as standalone climate measures. Whereas, according to the sector, they can actually help to make better use of European raw materials and make the energy supply less vulnerable. That…
Camelina, an oilseed crop from the cruciferous family, is set to play a larger role as a feedstock for biofuels. The crop has long been under investigation for the production of biodiesel, renewable diesel (a diesel substitute based on vegetable oils and fats), and sustainable aviation fuel, internationally referred to as SAF. Why camelina is interesting for biofuels Camelina has a relatively low…
For the first time, there are official European rules for certifying techniques that remove CO2 from the atmosphere and permanently sequester it. The associated certification system entered into force this month, including for biochar. Participation is voluntary, but those who participate will face clear quality requirements. This is important news for the biomass sector: biochar…
The Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) has published a new call for grants for projects in the biobased industry. Applications can be submitted until 22 September 2026, 17:00. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) is organizing an online information session on Wednesday 27 May 2026 regarding this call and related topics within the CIRCBIO destination…
Green gas must become a strategic pillar of a robust and affordable energy system. This is stated by Platform Groen Gas in a publication dated April 30. According to the trade association, the Dutch energy supply is under pressure due to geopolitical tensions, grid congestion, and the phasing out of Groningen gas extraction. In this context, green gas can contribute to more stable prices and…
Companies wishing to test or demonstrate innovations in the field of biobased polyesters can apply for a subsidy through the RVO DEI+ Biobased Circular scheme until July 30, 2026. The total budget amounts to 22 million euros, funded by the National Growth Fund Programme BioBased Circular. On April 23, RVO announced that despite a large number of…
Bioplastics can play a larger role in an economy that wants to become less dependent on oil and gas. This is stated by European Bioplastics in a new publication on sustainable biomass for bioplastics. The trade association views biobased plastics as an important building block for the European bio-economy. At the same time, the publication touches upon a sensitive point in the…
Hygiene and health group Essity is participating in the European research project PROTEUS, which is working on bio-based superabsorbent materials derived from sustainably harvested brown algae. The company is investigating whether raw materials from the brown algae Laminaria hyperborea can be used in products such as baby diapers, menstrual products, and incontinence materials, as an alternative to current fossil-based plastics. From fossil superabsorbents to seaweed…
On April 22, 2026, consultancy firm Guidehouse presented a new report on biogases in Europe to the European Parliament. The meeting was organized by the European Biogas Association (EBA), the European trade association for the biogas sector. The central question: how much renewable gas can Europe produce itself from residual streams and waste in the coming decades? Biogas is produced through the fermentation…
The European market for biobased adhesives is on the verge of substantial growth. This is the conclusion of market research firm Ceresana in a new market study, the first to specifically map the European market for so-called green adhesives. European sales of biobased adhesives are estimated at approximately 1,5 billion euros in 2034, with an expected annual…
An extensive scientific review study, published in the journal Biochar, concludes that biochar is one of the most versatile and promising materials in the fight against climate change. The material, made from biomass, can simultaneously sequester carbon, improve soil quality, increase agricultural productivity, and purify water. The study, compiled by an international team of researchers, synthesizes a…
The Rotterdam chemical industry could require up to half as many fossil raw materials by 2050, but only if large-scale, coordinated development is chosen. That is the central conclusion of a new study commissioned by the Province of South Holland into syngas chains in the Rotterdam Port-Industrial Complex (HIC). The study, conducted by Tekenkamer van de…
Researchers have developed a new catalyst made from biomass that offers a promising alternative to the scarce and expensive platinum currently used in fuel cells and metal-air batteries. The breakthrough, published in the scientific journal Biochar, shows how renewable raw materials can be converted into high-value materials for clean energy technologies. From wood biomass to…
On Tuesday, May 19, 2026, the Netherlands is organizing the NL Company Day during EUBCE 2026 in The Hague. Part of this day is a structured matchmaking program aimed at establishing new international contacts within the bioeconomy. The event takes place at the World Forum and is part of the broader congress program, to which…
The Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) has published its work programme for 2026. In total, over €170 million is available for projects within the European bioeconomy, distributed across thirteen thematic calls. Focus on large-scale biorefineries An important part of the programme is the focus on so-called flagship projects. These involve large-scale demonstration plants that…
A group of sixty experts presented concrete measures at the second Grid Ready Forum in Brussels to accelerate the injection of biomethane into European gas grids. The infrastructure is already in place, but regulatory fragmentation and technical barriers are slowing down the rollout. Delays in the implementation of EU gas rules threaten to hinder the rollout, precisely at a moment…
The Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC), together with more than twenty European trade associations, has signed a joint letter to the European Parliament. The coalition calls on MEPs to explicitly retain agriculture and the bioeconomy in the next major European research and innovation programme, Horizon Europe 2028-2034. The reason for this is a draft report that on 13 March 2026…
The European Commission, through CORDIS, has released the results of BioUPGRADE, a now-completed research project into new applications of natural polymers from biomass. The project focused on the use of cellulose, hemicellulose, and chitin in, among other things, packaging materials, conductive inks, and hydrogels. BioUPGRADE ran from 2021 to the end of 2025 and was led by…
The European Investment Bank and the Italian energy group Eni have secured a loan of 500 million euros for a new biorefinery in Sannazzaro de' Burgondi, in Lombardy. With the funds, Eni intends to convert part of the existing refinery for the production of biofuels. The plant is scheduled to produce HVO diesel and sustainable aviation fuel starting in 2028. The…
Agricultural waste streams usually end up in compost, animal feed, or energy production. Researchers at the University of the Basque Country have now described a different application. They produced anode material for sodium-ion batteries from sunflower husks, a waste stream that normally has little economic value. In trials with small button cell batteries, these cells continued to function for up to 1.000 charge and discharge cycles. The study fits into…
New research from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology shows that, under a favorable scenario, Europe has enough biomass residue streams to completely replace fossil fuels in road transport. The potential is also significant in the shorter term. As early as 2030, more than half of fuel demand could be met by renewable liquid fuels. The…
Researchers from Wageningen University & Research and Utrecht University have developed a method to produce a versatile chemical building block from plant residues using electricity. The approach avoids toxic liquid bromine and uses a simpler reactor. The results have been published in ChemSusChem. The chemical industry relies heavily on fossil fuels and dangerous process steps…
The Netherlands must quickly get to work on a national strategy for bio-based raw materials. This call comes from the Lecturers' Platform Biobased Economy, the Lecturers' Platform Applied Science, and the Federation of Bio-Economy Netherlands. In the position paper *Getting to Work with Bio-based Raw Materials*, they advocate for a coherent approach in which biomass is viewed not only as an energy source, but also as…
Biomass is emerging in a debate where the sector seemed to be fading into the background in recent years. Not through a call for new subsidies or additional co-firing, but in the discussion regarding security of supply and the question of how the Netherlands keeps its electricity system robust as pressure mounts. The reason for this is the renewed attention to existing…
Since March 17, companies and knowledge institutions have been able to submit a pre-registration for a new call for proposals within the MOOI scheme for carbon removal. Notably, the RVO explicitly mentions scope for long-term storage of CO2 in products, including storage of CO2 from air, water, or biogenic point sources, and storage of CO2 in materials consisting of biomass. …
A broad group of European industrial organizations wants biomethane to be given a stronger place in European Union policy. In a joint statement dated March 24, the signatories call on Brussels to involve biomethane more explicitly in energy security, industrial competitiveness, and climate policy. According to the organizations, biomethane can help to reduce the use of fossil natural gas…
Europe potentially has sufficient capacity to meet a large part of its own demand for renewable energy and bio-based raw materials. This is evident from a recent analysis reported by Hernieuwbarebrandstoffen.nl. The outcome provides more direction regarding the role of biomass within the energy transition. The discussion on biomass often focuses on availability. The analysis shows…
A European consortium is launching a large-scale project to demonstrate that organic food waste can serve as a raw material for high-quality plastics. Within the CIRCLE project, seventeen partners are working on an industrial biorefinery that converts food waste streams into lactic acid and polylactic acid PLA. The project has a budget of approximately 27 million euros and is supported…
The General Court of the European Union has rejected the objections of environmental organisations against the European rules on biomass. As a result, biomass will provisionally continue to count within the EU rules that determine which investments qualify as sustainable. This is an important signal for the bioeconomy, as the European Commission is allowed to continue its current course. The case was…
On 17 March, the Council of the EU adopted conclusions on the new European bioeconomy strategy. In doing so, the Member States express support for an approach in which competitiveness, sustainability, innovation, and investment are central. According to the Council, the bioeconomy must develop into a competitive and sustainable pillar of the European economy by 2040.
For a long time, lignin was primarily considered a troublesome component of wood. The substance has a complex structure and is therefore not easy to utilize for high-value applications. In materials research, that perception is shifting. Researchers are increasingly looking at lignin as a building block for bio-based materials with specific functions, for example in nanoparticles, fibers, and additives for plastics. That development stands…
Biomass is primarily known as a source of heat, fuels, and chemical building blocks. New research in Nature Communications reveals a different application. Researchers describe how diverse biomass streams can be converted into hard carbon, a material that can be used in the negative electrode of batteries. The study focuses on so-called hard carbon. That material applies…
The Netherlands produced a record 132 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity in 2025. New figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) show that renewable sources now account for 49 percent of total electricity production. Biomass remains a stable factor in this, contributing to security of supply and grid balance.
Bioscientist Vincent Eijsink of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences has received the 2026 Novonesis Biotechnology Prize. He is receiving this award for research that has clarified how tough biomass can be broken down much more efficiently. This insight is crucial for processing plant-based waste streams into biofuels, chemicals, and materials. A persistent mystery in…
The European bioeconomy continues to grow, but the transition from innovation to large-scale production remains challenging. This picture emerges from the 2025 Annual Report of the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC). The sector is expanding, attracting new members, and receiving increased attention in Brussels. At the same time, the question remains how new bio-based processes and…
The Netherlands is getting a national expertise center to help companies make new chemical substances and materials safer and more sustainable right from the start. TNO, the RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment), the VNCI (Association of Netherlands Industry and Employers), and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management joined forces on March 2, 2026. The center will focus on the principle of Safe and Sustainable by Design…
On March 4, 2026, the European Commission presented the Industrial Accelerator Act. With this plan, Brussels aims to grow the manufacturing industry to 20 percent of European GDP within ten years. For the bioeconomy and chemical sectors, the proposal includes concrete instruments to facilitate the transition to sustainable raw materials. Faster construction...
The Better Biomass Board of Experts has decided to no longer accept Guarantees of Origin (GOs) as official transaction documents for biomethane. This measure applies to all biomethane with a production date from 1 January 2026 onwards. Traders and producers within the Better Biomass scheme must now use a specific transaction document from the certification scheme itself. The…
The European Commission will publish the first call for accreditation of certification bodies within the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) framework in April 2026. This step marks the start of the practical implementation of the European system for carbon removal certification, which was adopted last year. The schedule for the remainder of 2026 was shared on March 2,…
During the DeCarbon Copenhagen 2026 conference, held from February 24th to 26th, the role of biomass in European industrial sustainability was analyzed. The experts present concluded that biogenic carbon is essential for sectors where few technological alternatives are available. The conference brought together representatives from the biomass trade, heavy industry, and digital…
Biomass remains the primary route to sustainable carbon in many discussions. But bio-based processes also generate a second carbon stream, biogenic CO2. This is released during biomass processing, fermentation, and organic waste treatment. The EU-funded research project UNICO2RN aims to demonstrate how such CO2 streams can be captured and utilized as a raw material for microbial protein…
Researchers at Delft University of Technology, in collaboration with the South China University of Technology, have discovered a unique property in a group of enzymes naturally occurring in fungi. This discovery sheds new light on biochemistry, the science that studies how chemical processes work in living beings. The research, led by…
During the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting, the European Member States discussed the implementation strategy for bio-based fertilizers. The dialogue focused on removing technical barriers to RENURE products, which play a role in the transition of European agriculture and biochemistry. The core of the discussions in Brussels was the practical implementation…
The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) is expanding the Circular Biopolyester Testing (STCB) scheme in 2026. The available funding will increase from €1,5 million to €4 million. Furthermore, for the first time this year, large companies will also be eligible for this support, whereas the scheme was previously limited to small and medium-sized enterprises. The expansion…
While Ukraine's large-scale energy infrastructure faces persistent instability, the Dutch business community is working on practical, decentralized alternatives. By deploying Dutch biomass technology, towns and cities are becoming less dependent on the vulnerable central electricity grid. This approach, coordinated by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, serves…
The energy company EemsGas has been awarded a €30 million investment subsidy for the construction of a biomass gasification plant in the Eemsmond region. The total investment for the project amounts to approximately €100 million. The subsidy will be used to build a plant that produces green gas from B-grade wood (demolition wood). The project is a…
In May 2026, The Hague will host the 34th edition of the European Biomass Conference and Exhibition (EUBCE). This event is considered one of the most influential platforms for the biomass sector worldwide, bringing together more than 1.500 delegates from the scientific, business, and policy sectors. The central theme of this edition is…
On February 13, 2026, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) presented its recommendations for the base amounts of the SDE++ scheme for 2026. In collaboration with TNO and DNV, the parameters for the upcoming subsidy round were established. For the bioenergy sector, the report provides important frameworks for scaling up green gas and the use of biomass…
The realization of Europe's first specialized plant for sustainable aviation fuel has come a step closer. Construction of the DSL-01 facility in Farmsum, near Delfzijl, can finally begin now that an agreement has been reached between fuel producer SkyNRG and environmental organization Mobilization for the Environment (MOB). Additional agreements on environmental standards have resulted in a long-term...
Bioenergy is the largest source of renewable energy in the European Union. Bioenergy Europe's recently published 2025 Landscape Report shows that the sector contributes to the stability of the energy supply through low dependence on external energy sources, particularly in heat supply. The report analyzes the current state of the EU energy system based on…
Millions of people touch thermal paper daily, whether it's receipts, shipping labels, or medical reports. This paper almost always contains bisphenols like BPA or BPS, substances that can disrupt hormone balance. Researchers at EPFL in Switzerland have developed a sustainable alternative that uses lignin and sugars from wood as the basis for a safe…
