Supergen Bioenergy Hub Workshop: Novel Crops and Forestry Species as Sources of Industrial Biomass

In-person Workshop: 11 May 2023, 10.00 – 17.00, BIFoR FACE facility, Stafford

The Independent Review of Net Zero recently published by the UK Government once again highlighted that biomass is going to play an important role in the UK’s net zero transition, for energy applications, negative emissions, and as a carbon source for other applications such as chemicals. To deliver on the targets for biomass utilisation, sustainable biomass production in the UK needs to be scaled up. Much attention has focused on crops like Miscanthus and SRC Willow and traditional forestry species, but there are also a range of other more novel biomass crops and trees that could potentially be deployed to help reach the UK’s targets (eg. hemp, eucalyptus, or species such as cup plant which have potential as AD feedstocks). Large scale deployment of these crops requires an understanding of their performance under UK conditions, optimum agronomy, suitability for different conversion technologies and products, and environmental impacts.

To support understanding in this area the Supergen Bioenergy Hub, the UK’s leading biomass and bioenergy research consortium, is convening a multi-stakeholder workshop on 11th May.

The aim of this workshop is to bring together stakeholders to gather information about novel industrial crops and trees that are of interest to the UK, and to build connections between researchers and producers of novel crops. Workshop sessions will provide an opportunity for attendees to share their knowledge and engage in discussion, and as a result will highlight what where there are outstanding evidence gaps. Following the workshop, a report outlining the findings will be published to help inform the wider community of the current evidence and future research priorities.

In the morning, attendees will be taken on a tour of the BIFoR FACE facility, the world’s largest global change experiment. Run by the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, BIFoR FACE exposes mature oak/hazel forest to CO2 levels 150 ppm above ambient to measure forest productivity and resilience under future atmospheres.

Please note, this event is being held at the BIFoR FACE facility, which is not easy to reach via public transport. We are looking at providing transport from the nearest train station (Stafford) for those coming by rail if there is demand for this.

Who should come:
– Farmers, landowners, or businesses producing novel biomass crops or trees
– Researchers or industrialists with expertise in novel industrial crops or trees or related environmental impacts /ecosystem services, or conversion technologies
– Policy-makers with an interest in the UK’s future bioenergy crop deployment

All the outputs from the workshop will be published on our website. Follow us on social media to keep up to date on our latest news and events.