FUELBELTEuropean experiences in production

of wood biomass

Enhanced use and consumption of woodJune 18 – 19, 2007

Opatija, Croatia

Veli Pohjonen

University of Helsinki, Finland

European forest belt – FuelBelt - is a vast resource

source: European Forest Institute

Enhanced use of wood energy in Europe

• Combatting climate change needs renewable energy, instead of fossil fuels

• Growth in renewable energy in Europe is largely based on woody biomas

• For enhanced wood use all over Europe we need an intelligent energy carrier that is durable, storable and transportable

EU aims at 20 % in renewables

• Renewables now at 6.5 per cent in EU

• in combatting the climate change the aim has been set 20 per cent by 2020.

• Plenty of biomass, hydro, wind power and liquid biofuels are needed

• Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) demonstrates good working models

• FUELBELT under building for such project

Renewables per cent: case Finland

• In 2006 renewables totalled 23 per cent• Forest energy 20 %, hydro 3 %, wind 0.2 %• New forest energy developed since 1976• The case path points to 36 per cent in 2020

Wood energy origins are in wood industries

• About half of round wood is sawn to lumber• The other half is in various residues, like saw dust

(middle), bark (right) and others• Optimum use of wood energy supports saw milling.

Same applies for pulp and paper industries

Saw Mill and Power Plant: Polkky Ltd, Kuusamo, Finland

In modern saw mills

• bark and saw dust are used for energy

• electricity and heat are produced

• chips are sold to pulp mills

• shavings are pressed into pellets

• optionally: saw dust is also used for pellets

For enhanced use we have a problem: supply and demand do not meet

• Forest energy supplies are in less populated, remote areas (in FuelBelt)

• Demand for renewable energy is highest in populated areas of Central and Southern Europe

• Raw forest energy bulky, not transportable

• Energy carrier is needed

• Already developed carrier: wood pellet

Shaving of Scots pine under microspcope mostly air (brown), less cell walls (yellow)

Wood density rule

Density of dry Scots pine

390

1200

1530

0

400

800

1200

1600

2000

Roundwood Pellet Cell wall

kg/m3 Pelletizing today

densifies 4 x which is sufficient to transport from FuelBelt to consumer belt

Rule of thumb for maximum transport

• Chips, saw dust or shavings:

100-200 km (by truck)

• Round wood

1000 km (by train)

• Wood pellets

5000 km (by ship), 500 km by truck

In combatting the climate change: pellets substitute coal and natural gas

• Example of large scale: wood pellets processed in North-eastern Finland, Kuusamo are sold to Southern Sweden, Stockholm to subsitute coal in Hasselby power plant

• Example of small scale: wood pellets processed in Austria are sold to Italy to subsitute natural gas in small houses

Kuusamo (Finland) pellet factory: Shavings in, pellets out, export to

Stockholm Hasselby (Sweden)

Example of large scale customer: Stockholm Hasselby (Sweden)

• Coal fired power plant for pellets in 1992• Target: cut carbon dioxide emissions• Pellet use 250 000 tn / a (25 times

Kuusamo production)• Power plant in suburb of Stockholm, on a

lake side, transport only by ships• Domestic pellets 70 % (from Sweden)• Import 30 % (from Estonia, Latvia,

Norway, Poland, Finland)

Austrian modelpellet production of 90,000 tn/a from shavings and saw dust

for local market and export (e.g.Italy)

Example of small scale customers: natural gas heated houses

• Unstability of natural gas in 2000s has created market for pellets and pellet burners in Central and Southern Europe

• Pellet retail price peaked last winter over 400 Euro/tn (15 kg bags, in Italy)

• Price has come down, but apparently follows the development of natural gas

• Pellets create energy security in small housing

Pellets have been developed for 30 years

• Over 200 factories in Europe

• Small scale (house) use is well advanced

• Large scale use started in Hässelby, Sweden in 1992; Denmark also active

• Raw materials: shavings from carpenter industries, saw dust from saw mills

source: The Bioenergy International

Effect of carbon dioxide trading

• Tested in EU 2005-2007, second phase 2008-2012

• System works for the environment, CO2 emissions are better under control

• Experience from Finland: prices of electricity, wood fuel and pulp wood rise

• CO2 trading sets the basic price for wood pellets, against coal

Carbon dioxide priceblue 2007 emissions, green 2008 futures

Wood pellet reference pricingagainst coal, based on summed coal FOB price and CO2 price

(from 1.1.07 futures CO2 price for Dec 08 used)

Does pulpwood go into energy? in mid 2007: no (blue line is under green line)

FOB-prices for pulpwood (Finland) and coal, CO2 price from 1.1.2007 for futures Dec 08

Target of pellet development: to get it recognized in Commodity price lists

see e.g. ”pink sheet” in http://www.worldbank.org/

  Jan-Dec Jan-Dec Jan-Feb Dec Jan Feb

Commodity Unit 2004 2005 2006 2005 2006 2006

Energy              

Coal, Australia $/mt 52.95 47.62 45.44 38.23 43.19 47.70

Crude oil, avg, spot $/bbl 37.73 53.39 61.08 56.43 62.46 59.70

Crude oil, Brent $/bbl 38.30 54.43 61.75 56.75 63.57 59.92

Crude oil, Dubai $/bbl 33.46 49.29 57.94 53.13 58.31 57.58

Natural gas, Europe $/mmbtu 4.28 6.33 7.96 7.49 7.96 7.95

Natural gas, US $/mmbtu 5.89 8.92 8.07 12.83 8.66 7.49

Wood pellet, Europe €/tn  ??? 

???  ???  ???  ???  ???

FUELBELT

• There are good prospects for pellet development in Europe

• Combatting climate change, raising renewable energy, subsituting coal and natural gas give the frame

• There are high expectations on forested countries

• That is why we are developing FUELBELT project for Intelligent Energy Europe

• Participants: Finland, Sweden, Austria, Spain, Latvia and Croatia.

Thank you,

• The presentation will be posted in http://veli.pohjonen.org

Veli Pohjonen

Opatija, Croatia

19 June, 2007