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Join us for a BTL Webinar on Sept 17.
More information on BTLtec 2008! Technology Advancements Opening up New Capabilities & Improving BTL Economics
“Neste Oil to Build $1B NExBTL Renewable Diesel Plant in Rotterdam” Green Car Congress June 13, 08
“Norske Skog, a global pulp & paper producer unveils BTL Project in Norway” Gasification News June 12, 08
“UPM, a global forestry company team up with Carbona to develop synthetic biofuels.” Biopact, May 27, 07
P ulp & paper mills recognise the opportunities they can play as biomass processors and their important role in the biofuels sector. Technologies that make this transformation viable are gasification and the F-T Process with several studies showing that integration of a BTL plant with a mill would be economically attractive under many circumstances.
What are the challenges of a biorefinery integration ?
Automakers have acknowledged the benefits of BTL fuels, with some like Volkswagen & Daimler Chrysler taking a stake in BTL producer Choren • What are the downstream processing options for a BTL plant
CMT ’s 3rd BTLtec has lined up key experts who are already in the field, technology companies including new entrants to the BTL industry.
You Will Hear From
Including a half day tour/site visit to the Växjö Värnamo Biomass Gasification Centre on the afternoon of the second day.
Växjö Värnamo Biomass Gasification Centre VVBGC is an R&D centre inviting collaborative initiatives in gasification of biomass, feeding systems, hot gas cleaning, IGCC syngas upgrading, catalyst research, BTL processes, H2 for fuel cells. The plant is currently based on an IGCC process which is planned for rebuild to syngas version.
Feedback from our 2007 Conference “Excellent conference with right mixture on research & reality.” Roland Berger Strategy Consultants “Was educational & pleasant experience. Had good networking time.” Sasol Technology “A great opportunity to meet key workers in BTL.” National Non Food Crops Center UK “Good & interesting overview of a both complex / interdisciplinary and important topic." Statoil
YOU WILL NETWORK WITH
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The “Developing Sustainable Feedstock for BTL Projects” webcast went live on 17 September at 10AM GMT to an audience of 103 participants from all over the world. Released in line with the 3rd BTLtec conference on 13-14 October in Goteborg - SWEDEN, the webcast aimed to provide listeners with a foretaste of the insights that they will be able to access at the conference.
Featuring insights from Dr. Sune Bengtsson, Dr. Anders Baudin and Dr. Marc Londo, key experts on the 3rd BTLtec summit’s panel, the webcast provided an insightful and in-depth view into the future of the BTL industry and the importance of BTL in meeting European and Global Energy needs.
The webcast swung into high gear with a focused discussion on the commercialisation prospects for BTL. All three speakers agreed that first generation of BTL is already available, in terms of ethanol and DME, and the markets for these products are growing.
Dr. Bengtsson added that the 5.75% target set by the EU for 2010 does not look achievable because the development of 2nd generation BTL fuel isn’t moving ahead as planned.
Dr. Marc Londo summed it up with a touch of humour when he described the commercial introduction of BTL as a ‘moving target I wish will stop moving’ but the general consensus among the optimistic panellists was that commercialisation for 2nd Generation BTL will be reached in 2015.
The discussion then touched on the new capabilities and advancements in the BTL industry. The latest developments in the industry were remarked on; Dr. Bengtsson and Dr. Baudin referred to the Chemrec & Volvo pilot plant for DME production from a 2MW Black Liquor Gassification plant in Piteå, Sweden as an important milestone. Dr. Londo went on to identify Choren’s “SIGMA” BTL Plant development project as a major industry landmark.
All three however agreed that the major barrier to the development of BTL still remains the extremely high cost of the initial investment.
The discussion moved on to zoom into the issue of feedstocks for the BTL industry. While all three speakers agreed that the forestry industry can supply the required feedstock for the short and medium term demand, Dr. Londo cautioned that idea of a long-term alternative feedstock for BTL needs careful evaluation, especially if the industry moves to adopt agricultural lingo-cellulosic feedstocks to meet the rapidly increasing demand for BTL fuels.
As the discussion shifted to cover the EU’s views on BTL, Dr. Londo started the ball rolling with his comment that the EU Vision and directives for BTL were not clear and the target setting was still under development.
Dr. Londo did however compliment the EU strategy of setting up a biofuels technology platform to encourage the development of 2nd generation biofuels and BioEnergy. However, the need for BTL technologies to reach commercialisation is especially critical as competition from other options like Jatropha, renewable hydrogen and electric fuel cell are also rapidly hurtling towards commercialisation.
As Dr. Anders Baudin said, “BTL is not THE solution but part of the solution to make our world a better place” thus summing up the speakers’ sentiments on the importance and future of Biomass-to-Liquids in the future, and nicely rounding off the discussion and setting the stage for the Question & Answer Session.
The Question & Answer session allowed for listeners to pose their questions to the three panellists via real time submission. Questions came from all over the world as listeners clarified and debated their doubts on a number of key issues incuding:-
-The point of Maturation for the BTL industry
-EU’s sustainable biofuels criterion
-Role of BTL in the new biofuels criteria identified by the EU
-If Algae Biomass can be a viable feedstock for BTL
-Converting existing bio-refineries to produce 2nd generation BTL biofuels
-The expansion of the forestry industry for biofuel feedstock.
-The feasibility of Jatropha as a feedstock for Biofuels and even BTL.
To sum up, the webinar not only afforded an excellent overview and summary of the latest developments in BTL, but also became an excellent learning platform for those seeking insights into what’s really important in the BTL industry today and the long term outlook for current and future BTL projects.
If you missed the webcast on Sept 17th, you can still listen to the webcast recording. Visit http://www.btltec.com/webcast/ for immediate access
25 Sep, 2008
3rd BTLtec 2008 is a showcase of key experts who are already in the field, technology companies, researchers and investors from all over the world, presenting new perspectives on the latest technology advancements, new capabilities and improved BTL economics. As a precursor to the 3rd BTLtec 2008 conference scheduled on October 13-14, 2008 in Göteborg, Sweden, a free webcast was held on Sept 17 to address hard-hitting questions by BTL investors. Invited expert panelists scheduled to speak at the conference, Marc Londo & Sune Bengtsson, will participate in the webcast. Topics of discussion will include BTL long-term outlook and challenges in developing sustainable feedstocks for BTL projects. Those wanting to hear the replay of the Sept 17th webcast need to visit http://www.btltec.com/webcast/ to register.
26 Sep, 2008