Online Event 
Webinars with moderated panel debate and audience Q&A 
 

The European Commission’s bold ambition to become the first climate neutral continent by 2050 and achieve a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 is key for a number of policy initiatives, which are also critical to the biomass and bioenergy industry. The latter is paying particular attention to the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) process that aims to adopt sewage sludge, food waste and construction wood waste as inputs in order to produce bio-crude oil that, in turn, can be refined into biofuel. This innovative technology brings a twofold additional value in supporting the SET-Plan Key Action 8 on sustainable transport. First, it provides biofuel that can be used in multiple transport sectors such as road, marine and aviation. Secondly, by using waste feedstock as main resource, it greatly contributes to the shift from a linear to a circular economy.

 

Session 1
13:30 to 15:30
Policy outlook and latest scientific and technology advancements for HTL
The dissemination conference aims to provide a clear framework of HTL state of the art by addressing it from two perspectives. Firstly, the latest EU and global policy trends are going to be taken into account and, subsequently, the scientific community directly displays the research and technology advancements highlighting the results of multiple projects.

Session 2
15:45 to 17:30
Technology scale up and market uptake: bringing together technology providers and end users
In a context where new EU legislative strategies on renewable energies and climate sector are in the pipeline, including greater attention to hydrogen, together with an ongoing Covid-19 pandemic impacting the global economy, the business potential, the regulatory aspects, and exploitation needs are tackled considering the ongoing energy transition and decarbonization processes. The conference brings together a panel debate that will discuss how current and future HTL plants can successfully close the loop between feedstock providers and end-users under different perspectives, both in Europe and globally (Canada, USA, Japan).

Agenda & Slides

Session 1 – 13:30
Welcome and moderation

Chairman: Preben Birr, Independent energy expert & former Director of House of Energy – Energy Cluster Denmark   

Policy outlook and latest RTD advancements for HTL
EU R&I policy for renewable energy carriers (PDF)
Maria Georgiadou, DG Research & Innovation, European Commission

Global policy market scenario relevant for HTL in the energy transition (PDF)
Sylvain Verdier, Senior Business Strategy Manager, Haldor Topsoe A/S

HTL: latest scientific and technology advancements
NextGenRoadFuels: milestones on pre-treatment and nutrient recycle, HTL processing, upgrading, LCA
Lasse Rosendahl, Head of Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University

Question & Answers

Main advancements from the other H2020 projects
HyFlexFuel: Valentin Batteiger, Bauhaus Luftfahrt (PDF)
Bio4Fuels: Judit Sandquist, SINTEF (PDF)
WASTE2ROAD: Geert Haarlemmer (PDF)
HeatToFuel: David Chiaramonti, RE-CORD (PDF)
4refinery: Thomas Helmer Pedersen (PDF)   

Recap – Questions & Answers

15:15 – Break

Session 2 – 15:45
Technology scale up and market uptake: bringing together technology providers and end users
Chairman: Lasse Rosendahl, Head of Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University

Business opportunities and go-to-market possibilities (PDF)
Mikael Christensen, Vice President, Steeper Energy 

HTL Developers perspective: main demos in EU and worldwide (PDF)
John Holladay, Energy and Environment Director, Pacific Northwest National Lab   

Question & Answers

HTL End user’s perspective
Erik C. Wormslev, Director – Innovation, Climate change, energy, and resources, Niras (PDF)
Johannes Schürmann, Innovation Manager, GoodFuels
(PDF)
Marta Yugo, Science Executive, Economics & Modeling, Concawe
(PDF)
– Sergios Karatzos, Renewable Feedstock Coordinator, Parkland Refining Ltd

Question & Answers

HTL in the 2021 global business: a roundtable with key players (PDF)
Moderator: Dina Bacovsky, Unit Head Biofuels at BEST – Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies

Panel: GoodFuels, PNNL, Steeper Energy, Concawe, Niras, Parkland Refining 

Questions & Answer – Closing Remarks

17:30 – End