Biomass potentials and possible imports to EU 27¹

The NREAP supply of woody biomass 2020 in EU 27 seems plausible, if existing programs for mobilisation will work. The NREAP supply of biowaste seems also plausible when common standards for the definition of biowaste are applied. The NREAP supply of biomass from agriculture shows strong variation. There are very high potentials, but development would require additional incentives. In total there is a solid biomass supply gap in Europe to be expected in 2020 (26 to 38 Mtoe which would be equal to 55 to 85 Mio. t wood pellets), which could be sourced by imports. Global potentials exist to supply these volumes, but substantial investment in the establishment of applicable supply chains would be needed. For comparison the total global pellet market was 16 Mio. t in 2010 and imports to Europe accounted for 3 Mio. t. Based on these results greater amounts of incentives to increase the availability of solid biomass and additional investments in the energy industry would be required in Europe to achieve the renewable energy targets for 2020. Additional imports could cover the expected supply gap, thereby having an impact on biomass price development and cost for electricity, heating and cooling in Europe.