Spain and Canada seek greater collaboration in the bioenergy sector

“The webinar was an interesting introduction for our companies and also for Canadian organizations on a topic with great development potential in both countries, such as energy generation with biomass, an important resource in both Canada and Spain,” according to Javier Díaz, president of AVEBIOM.

Nadia Rego, commercial delegate of the Canadian Embassy in Spain, has assured that the “b2b” meetings have concluded with “a good exchange of perspectives” between entities from Canada and Spain, which predict an increase in collaboration in the sector of the bioenergy. The organization has facilitated more than 20 virtual meetings between companies and research centers from the two countries during the week of March 22 to 25.

Canada is a giant of forestry production : it is the second country with the largest forest area in the world, with 347 million hectares, and the first in sustainable forest management, with nearly half of the area certified by independent organizations (166 million of hectares). The country exports about 3 million tons of pellets to Europe and other parts of the world per year .

The Canadian consultant Murray McLaughlin reviewed the situation of biomass within the framework of the national strategy to promote the bioeconomy, pointing out that the government supports the development of the bioindustrial sector (biofuels, biorefineries, biomaterials, bioenergy and emerging technologies) and the implementation of clean technologies to achieve their climate commitments to reduce GHG in 2030 and 2050 . Throughout the country, several clusters created with biomass as a central axis are increasing their activity, even seeking partners from other countries.

Pablo Rodero, head of international projects at AVEBIOM, explained the situation of bioenergy in Spain , highlighting the enormous potential in agrobiomass, whose energy recovery will be essential to achieve the objectives of reducing emissions (40%) and implementing renewable energies ( 32%) in 2030.

The workshop hosted a round table in which two Canadian and two Spanish companies participated, represented by Sonia Shoukry, CEO of Global Biocoal Energy; Forkus Martinez, sales director of PRODESA in North America; Bernie Pahlke, president of BEP Engineering; and Elías Hernández, CTO of ENSO. The impact of digital transformation in the sector was discussed, the emphasis on modernization projects for biofuel production plants and the opportunities derived from the application of innovative technologies to increase the efficiency and safety of the processes.