Valladolid opens the doors of the Expobiomasa fair

With the traditional ribbon cutting and flag raising, the twelfth edition of the Expobiomasa international fair was inaugurated, organized by the Spanish Association for the Energy Valorization of Biomass (Avebiom), whose official event was presided over by the mayor of Valladolid, Óscar Puente, accompanied by the Minister of Development and Environment of the Junta de Castilla y León, Juan Carlos Suárez-Quiñones; the general director of the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving, IDAE, Joan Groizard; and by the president of Avebiom, Javier Díaz.

This year's Expobiomasa features 540 companies from 30 countries, showcasing their best equipment and latest technologies across 28,000 square meters of the Valladolid fairgrounds. Over 15,000 industry professionals are expected to attend the three-day event (September 24-26).

The University Clinical Hospital of Valladolid has received a Diploma of Recognition from Avebiom, acknowledging its decision to connect to the University of Valladolid's heating network. The award was received by the hospital's managing director, Francisco Javier Vadillo, from the Minister of Development and Environment of Castile and León, Juan Carlos Suárez-Quiñones.

The mayor of Valladolid, Óscar Puente, presented the 'Promoting Bioenergy 2019' award to the Basque Energy Agency (EVE), which was accepted by its director, Íñigo Ansola. With this award, Avebiom wanted to recognize the work of dissemination, support and investment carried out by the EVE in the extension of biomass as a source of thermal generation in homes, collective buildings and industries.

The Basque Energy Agency (EVE) was created in 1982 and is the Energy Agency of the Basque Government, whose mission is to propose energy strategies under the criteria of security of supply, cost competitiveness, sustainability and technological development; as well as actively participate in their development and contribute to the achievement of the objectives defined therein.

In line with eurstrategies to promote renewables aimed at 'decarbonizing' the energy sector, the EVE develops various annual aid programs, through which nearly 4,000 thermal biomass installations have been promoted, which have had an impact on Basque society by modifying its traditional consumption patterns.

In previous editions, the 'Promote Bioenergy' award has been given to the Terrassa City Council (2010), IDAE (2011), the Andalusian Energy Agency (2012), the Junta de Castilla y León (2013), the Climate Change Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (2014), the Xunta de Galicia (2015), the public company Nasuvinsa (Navarra de Suelo y Vivienda, in 2016), the University of Valladolid (2017) and the Ceder-Ciemat of Soria (2018).

Innovation Award and two runner-up prizes
The German company Pallman has received the 2019 Innovation Award within the framework of the activities of the Expobiomasa international bioenergy fair, which opened its doors today in Valladolid.

With this award, accepted by Carlos Gómez—Pallmann's representative in Spain—Expobiomasa recognizes the innovation of Pallmann's new EcoPulser wood shredder, which uses shock waves. This machine can grind approximately five tons of wood per hour with just two 22 kW motors, resulting in energy cost savings of 80% compared to conventional mills. The award was presented by Juan Carlos Suárez-Quiñones, Minister of Development and the Environment for the Regional Government of Castile and León

First runner-up went to the Valencian group Innergy for its new Bio-Bloc thermal energy generator, designed with hot air turbine technology powered by biomass and waste. With a compact and transportable design, it eliminates the need for a boiler or pressurized equipment, as well as water or oil as the heat transfer fluid to drive the turbine. David López accepted the award from Joan Groizard, Director General of the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE).

The second runner-up prize, awarded to the Finnish company Saalasti, was accepted by its CEO, Jarno Petäkoski, from the Deputy Director General of Forest Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, José Manuel Jaquotot. Expobiomasa recognized the innovation of the latest-generation 'Hippo' press, which is 35 times more efficient than previous models in the mechanical drying of biomass for energy purposes, represents significant cost savings, and prevents the emission of thousands of tons of CO2.