In this presentation given at the Biomass Connect Showcase on 8th November 2024, Erisa Senerdem brings valuable insights from global biomass markets for agricultural residues like sugarcane bagasse and palm kernel shells. Particularly pertinent were comments about the importance of product specification, seasonality of supply, price volatility and matching to end user technologies.

Erisa Senerdem is editor of the Argus Biomass Markets report at global price-reporting agency Argus Media: a weekly that publishes price assessments for the industrial wood pellets, chips, residential pellets and palm kernel shell (PKS) spot markets globally, in-depth market commentaries and analysis, and related data. She has been with Argus for over ten years and previously covered power, natural gas, coal and petroleum coke markets. Prior to Argus, Erisa worked as a researcher, university lecturer, journalist and a parliamentary consultant for EU legislation. She holds a Ph.D. in economics, with a special focus on the energy field.

In this presentation given at the Biomass Connect Showcase on 8th November 2024, Steve Smith shared the findings of the “State of CDR” report, emphasising the global need for carbon dioxide removal technologies. Whether it’s trees, peatland restoration, biochar, wood products, or BECCS, the majority involve biomass in some way.

With a background in atmospheric physics and a career in UK climate policy, Steve Smith’s interests lie at the intersection of climate science and decision-making. He is Executive Director Oxford Net Zero and CO2RE: two programmes both focussed on stabilising the climate both rapidly and sustainably.

Oxford Net Zero brings together experts from across the University to address the critical issue of how to reach global net zero emissions. It includes academics from disciplines including Anthropology, Biology, Earth Sciences, Geography, Law, Business and Governance.

CO2RE is a multi-disciplinary research hub focused on removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Backed by seven UK universities, CO2RE works with demonstration-scale removal projects around the country. It conducts solutions-led research to develop and evaluate a balanced portfolio of scalable techniques.

Steve has published in major journals on a range of topics, including metrics for comparing emissions of different greenhouse gases, and the governance of carbon dioxide removal. He is also passionate about turning the latest science into usable tools, such as the Net Zero Tracker and the State of Carbon Dioxide Removal.

He joined the Smith School from the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) where he co-led the Climate Science Team and played a role in the legislation of the UK’s net zero target. Before that he was Head of Science at the Committee on Climate Change. He has a PhD from Imperial College London and is a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society.

Alongside continuing to advise governments and businesses, Steve communicates climate change to children and wider audiences. He helped write Climate Crisis for Beginners by Usborne Books, and was a contributor to the Ladybird book on Climate Change.

In this presentation given at the Biomass Connect Showcase on 7th November 2024, Jeanette Whitaker (UKCEH) provides an overview of Biomass Connect and the various Biomass Feedstock Innovation projects, showing how their innovations are helping to shape the future of the biomass sector in the UK.

Jeanette Whitaker is a principal scientist in Soil and Land use with 26 years research experience on the impacts of climate change, land-use change and land management on soil biogeochemical cycling.

Her research focuses on bioenergy sustainability and land-based greenhouse gas removals including soil carbon sequestration, bioenergy and biochar. She has held continuous research funding since 2010 from UKRI and UK government and is  Executive Editor of SOIL journal. She is also project lead for Biomass Connect

In this presentation given at the Biomass Connect Showcase on 7th November 2024, Zoe Harris, demonstrates the use of aeroponics as a cutting-edge propagation method for willow.

Zoe Harris’s core research interest are in how we use land to provide food and energy provisions whilst minimising environmental impacts? Zoe’s NERC Fellowship investigate the relationship between vertical farming and BECCS deployment. She is investigating if vertical farming is sustainable, and how this technology could support BECCS deployment through land sparing or potentially through supply of bioenergy crops. Zoe’s research interests include:

• Bioenergy
• Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage
• Land use change
• Eddy covariance
• Soil GHG emissions
• Vertical farming

Zoe is also interested in the role of gender in the energy sector and received a UKERC Networking fund grant to found the IVUGER network – Increasing Visibility of Underrepresented Groups in Energy Research. This project provided training and seed funding for women in energy research, and conducted research into the impact of job wording on the diversity of applicants. Zoe recently won a DecarboN8 seed fund to develop methodology, which assesses the role of diversity in problem solving, using transport in Bradford as a case study.

In this presentation given at the Biomass Connect Showcase on 7th November 2024, Alex McCash (Terravesta) describes the Terravesta OMENZ project achievements, including advancements in rhizome separation and planting efficiency.

Alex McCash co-ordinates field trials of existing varieties and new hybrids to evaluate planting techniques and find ways to improve crop establishment and resulting yield. He has a degree in Plant Science from the University of Sheffield. Alex is passionate about sustainable agriculture and his practical knowledge is invaluable in reviewing our planting and rhizome quality protocol.

In this presentation given at the Biomass Connect Showcase on 7th November 2024, Kevin Lindegaard (Envirocrops) introduces decision-making tools and an educational game to help aspiring biomass crop growers evaluate their options.

Kevin Lindegaard has nearly 30 years of experience working in the field of energy crops and renewable energy. He spent 7 years working at Long Ashton Research Station as the plant breeder in charge of the European Willow Breeding Programme. He was responsible for breeding high-yielding and disease resistant willow varieties including: Resolution, Endurance and Endeavour.

Kevin has acted as a consultant for 20 years and has done hundreds of feasibility studies. He is currently using his consultancy skills to help build the Envirocrops web app – a decision support tool that will harness the digital tools we take for granted in modern life. He also is a key member of the Biomass Connect consortia. He also runs the Sustainable Fuel Register. He is a former director of the Wood Heat Association.

In this presentation given at the Biomass Connect Showcase on 7th November 2024, John Hawkins (Bagber Farms Ltd.) details his experiences growing reed canary grass.

John Hawkins is a third-generation tenant arable farmer in Mid Dorset. He grew up on the farm but then after a BSc in Maritime Studies was commissioned into the Royal Navy. Later he travelled extensively as a security consultant which gave him an insight into global problems issues and solutions before realising that there is no place like home.

In a period of agricultural change, his initial role on the farm was to look for ways to diversify the business to support the families involved. This led to planting a 5000 tree cherry orchard(agroforestry) and committing 10 years to adding value to his fruit. The organic knowledge and steep learning curve in horticulture then paved the way to take over as Managing Partner of the Business 6 years ago within the background of 10 years min till arable rotation. 4 years ago using support from Mid Tier CS and Wessex Water and other complementary systems he turned his whole farm into a giant experiment (a sort of shot in the dark pre-policy pre ELM’strial) to see if Regenerative Agriculture was a viable alternative to intensive production whilst still seeing if he could grow food and energy crops more sustainably.

Reed Canary Grass was a catalyst for this change and initially grown on contract. It has been trialled on farm for 7 years now. Current themes include using Soil Carbon increases to maximise Nitrogen efficiency on farm, especially with Perennial Crops. Everything is driven by a practical observation of Science and tested rigorously to compare it to previous arable rotations within the confines of a rented farm.

In this presentation given at the Biomass Connect Showcase on 7th November 2024, Chris Johnston (AFBI) showcases the use of willow to manage farm water runoff, highlighting promising results.

Chris Johnston has responsibility for AFBI’s Agri-Environmental Technology unit at the Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute (AFBI) at Hillsborough in Northern Ireland. The facility was opened in January 2009 and coordinates the research being conducted across AFBI in areas relevant to bioenergy and associated environmental protection as well as nutrient management within a circular bioeconomy. He has a B.Sc. (Hons) from Edinburgh University, a M.Sc. from Reading University and over 18 years’ experience in the Bioenergy & Biomass sector in both a private SME and a public sector capacity. His work assists the agri-food sector in maximising environmental sustainability and supports technology transfer activities with Farmers, Research, Industry, Government & Education.

In this presentation given at the Biomass Connect Showcase on 7th November 2024, Pietro Alasia (AL.Wood) provides insights into poplar cultivation in Italy

Pietro Alasia is a fourth-generation entrepreneur from Italy. After completing his studies in agribusiness at the Minoprio Foundation, he dedicated himself to the family business, AL.WOOD. Originally starting as a small local nursery, the company has since specialised in poplar cultivation, focusing on both traditional poplar plantations for plywood production and biomass plantations. AL.WOOD has now expanded its market, commercialising its varieties across Europe and beyond. Currently, the company is also engaged in research on new hybrids to enhance the genetic improvement of poplar species.

In this presentation given at the Biomass Connect Showcase on 7th November 2024, Tim Volk provides a comparative view of the willow industries in the USA and UK, emphasising the critical role of people and relationships and how we must cultivate these alongside the supply chain and technical advancements.

Dr. Timothy Volk, (Department of Sustainable Resources Management, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF)) has over 30 years of experience working in the fields of forestry, agroforestry, short-rotation woody crops, bioenergy and phytoremediation in the Northeastern United States and Africa. He is currently a professor at SUNY-ESF in Syracuse, NY where he is responsible for projects focused on developing the wood based bioeconomy, implementing MMRV (monitoring measurement, reporting and verification) systems for carbon under different forest management practices, development of short rotation woody crop biomass systems as a feedstock for bioproducts and bioenergy, and the use of shrub willow as an alternative cover for an industrial waste site. He is also actively involved in research and development of sustainability assessments of bioenergy systems, life cycle assessments of willow biomass crops and woody biomass from forests, using willow in living snow fences and sound barriers, and harvesting systems for short rotation woody crops.