(especially in the field of bio-based raw materials) There are a lot of conferences happening in the Netherlands these days. Open LinkedIn and you'll see one lineup after another. Because I'm in that bubble, meetings about energy and chemistry dominate my timeline. I attend some of them, like this week's annual Energy Day of the online magazine Energeia.
In early September, the annual Clean Energy Ministerial and Mission Innovation was held in Busan[1], South Korea. I was fortunate enough to attend as part of the Dutch delegation and a representative of the Integrated Biorefineries Mission. Given the societal uncertainty, I was curious to see how things are currently being handled globally…
Every year, the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service publishes Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) reports offering fact-based, data-rich updates on agricultural commodity markets, including for wood pellets. Although produced by a US government agency, they provide a broad overview of global market trends, making them essential reading for anyone involved in the wood pellet trade. Their…
And that's bad news for bioresources. Bioresources are a key component of the circular economy. The biological cycle is based on the principle that organic materials are reabsorbed into nature after use, so they can once again find their way as raw materials into building materials, plastics, fuel, and countless other products. It's no coincidence that...
While tensions are increasing worldwide and new priorities are being set, the sustainability of our energy and material supply remains more than necessary. For the reader of Biomass Facts this is a known fact, but how can we achieve this together. From the international cooperation within the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and Mission Innovation I see from…
As EU Member States press ahead with implementing the Renewable Energy Directive III (REDIII), they are required to apply the “cascading principle” when awarding subsidies for woody biomass for energy. The idea sounds straightforward — prioritize higher-value uses of wood before lower-value ones — but in practice, it is anything but. As I've written previously,…
The last year the European petrochemical industry has entered into a downward spiral with almost weekly announcements of closures of production facilities. For me as a chemist working in the industry for more than 25 years, it is really fascinating to observe an industrial transformation in real time! The war in Ukraine and more recently…
Since the start of Biomassafeiten.nl in 2020, I have been involved with the platform, first in the development of the website, later also in creating and sharing content. During that period, I have increasingly delved into the world of biomass and bio-based raw materials. What I quickly noticed: in the regular media…
Burning biomass for energy – it is the classic ‘low-value’ application. Anyone who is somewhat familiar with the world of bio-resources knows the mantra: use biomass as high-value as possible, for example as a raw material for chemicals, materials or biobased products. Energy production is considered a closing item; an inefficient way to utilise a versatile, often difficult to obtain raw material.…
Until recently, data centers were largely background infrastructure—quietly plugging away enabling us to send emails, work online and stream our favorite shows. That all changed in November 2022, when OpenAI released the first iteration of ChatGPT. Since then, so-called 'hyperscalers', those investing in large-scale data centers such as Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet, have been…
