Use of biowaste and residual biomass. Charter holidays on biomass await ahead

It sounds imaginative that you should be able to send a container freight around the world on biomass, or that you can transport tourists on a charter holiday with slaughterhouse waste in mind. That it is imaginative, however, is in no way an obstacle to its realization.

Right now, a consortium with a total of 17 partners from Denmark and other European countries is in the process of bringing the production of sustainable fuels for aircraft and ships to commercialization. The project partners, which will use biowaste and residual biomass for the production of green fuel, have already secured more than DKK 30 million. kroner from the Innovation Fund for the purpose.

Fortunately, there are several technology development projects that are currently seeing the light of day in the field.

SLAM TO JET

It makes very good sense to work with sustainable fuels for aircraft and ships. The transport sector, and in particular aviation and shipping, is one of the areas facing the greatest challenges in creating significant CO2 reductions. And sustainable fuels have been identified as a possible solution.

At the same time, it is a solution that we can glimpse on the horizon. It is not pure hocus pocus – thus the basic technology, hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), is already under demonstration in Norway.

The new consortium’s project builds on the Norwegian demonstration project by focusing on the refining processes themselves and the finished fuels, just as they will work with the prototype of jet fuel developed on sewage sludge, which Aalborg University has recently demonstrated.

It makes good sense to think outside the box and across national borders when solving a global challenge – and it also makes good sense to develop new technologies and innovative solutions across sectors.

COMMON GREEN SOLUTION

The heavy transport sector is not easy to electrify. And it is an unrealistic expectation to think that the planes themselves will find out to save on the gunpowder, or that the ships will start to sail mainsails again. Therefore, collaboration in a consortium, where we cover the entire value chain, is crucial for success in both a technological and a market breakthrough. The sectoral coupling needed to provide the green transport sector with a green solution requires commitment and innovation at all levels of the value chain.

There is great potential in developing sustainable fuel for the transport industry, and innovative solutions will make a decisive contribution to the green transition.