Final Workshop of the HiEff-BioPower Project

Within the EU Horizon 2020 project "HiEff-BioPower", a new innovative, fuel flexible medium-scale biomass combined heat and power (CHP) technology has been developed. The concept is based on a fixed-bed updraft gasifier, a gas cleaning unit for tar, particulate matter, H2S and HCl removal and a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system. The technology is capable of using a wide spectrum of residual biomass fuels (e.g. wood pellets/chips of various sizes and moisture contents, short-rotation coppice, selected agricultural fuels), while still achieving high electric and overall efficiencies, as well as incomparably low gaseous and nearly zero particulate matter emissions.
A testing plant consisting of a pilot-scale gasifier (500 kW fuel power related to the NCV of the fuel input) and a side stream gas cleaning unit supplying a 6 kWel SOFC with cleaned product gas has been developed and constructed. At this plant testing campaigns with wood chips, poplar from SRC and pellets from torrefied wood have been performed. The technology development which was based on process simulations, computer aided design, pilot plant construction, performance and evaluation of test runs, risk and safety analysis has been complemented by a thorough assessment of its techno-economic performance, environmental impacts, as well as market potential.

At the end of the HiEff-BioPower project, a webinar will take place on 17 November 2021, 14.00-16.30 (CET) to present and discuss the final results of the project. This online seminar will inform about the technical achievements of this exciting new technology, areas of application, relevant impacts, as well as on further steps needed to make this technology ready for the market. The workshop is organised by Wuppertal Institute, in cooperation with BIOS Bioenergiesysteme GmbH and all HiEff-BioPower partners. Thomas Götz, Co-Head of the Research Unit Energy Policy at the Wuppertal Institute, will moderate the workshop and present the assessment of the environmental impacts of the new technology.

This project receives funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 727330 – HiEff-BioPower. Further information on the workshop, the agenda and the link to the workshop registration (free of charge) can be found under the link below.