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Available at www.sciencedirect.com
B I O M A S S A N D B I O E N E R G Y 3 2 ( 2 0 0 8 ) 7 1 7 – 7 2 9
0961-9534/$ - see frodoi:10.1016/j.biomb
�Corresponding auE-mail address:
http://www.elsevier.com/locate/biombioe
Developments in international bioenergy trade
Martin Jungingera,�, Torjus Bolkesjøb, Douglas Bradleyc, Paulo Dolzand, Andre Faaija,Jussi Heinimoe, Bo Hektorf, Øyvind Leistadg, Erik Lingh, Miles Perryi, Erik Piacented,Frank Rosillo-Callei, Yves Ryckmansj, Peter-Paul Schouwenbergk, Birger Solbergl,Erik Trømborgl, Arnaldo da Silva Walterd, Marc de Wita
aCopernicus Institute for Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS Utrecht, The NetherlandsbPoint Carbon, P.O. Box 7120 St.Olav, N-0130 Oslo, NorwaycClimate Change Solutions, 402 Third Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 2K7dState University of Campinas, 13083-970 Campinas, Sao Paulo, BrazileLappeenranta University of Technology, Energy Technology Cluster Programme, Wredenkatu 2, FI-78250 Varkaus, FinlandfTallOil, Klarabergsviadukten 70, 7D, SE 111 64 Stockholm, SwedengEnova, Abelsgate 5, 7030 Trondheim, NorwayhSveaskog AB, Stockholm, SwedeniImperial College London, Centre for Energy Policy and Technology, Mechanical Engineering, 313A South Kensington Campus,
London SW7 2AZ, UKjLaborelec/Electrabel, Rodestraat, 125, B-1630 Linkebeek, BelgiumkEssent Energy Trading, P.O. Box 689, 5201 AR ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The NetherlandslDepartment of Ecology and Natural Resource Management (INA), Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, 1432 As, Norway
Available online 27 May 2008
a r t i c l e i n f o
Keywords:
International bioenergy trade
Wood pellets
Bio-ethanol
IEA Bioenergy Task 40
nt matter & 2008 Elsevieioe.2008.01.019
thor. Tel.: +31 30 [email protected] (M.
a b s t r a c t
The aim of this paper is to present a synthesis of the main developments and drivers of
international bioenergy trade in IEA Bioenergy Task 40 member countries, based on various
country reports written by Task 40 members. Special attention is given to pellet and ethanol
trade. In many European countries such as Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the
UK, imported biomass contributes already significantly (between 21% and 43%) to total biomass
use. Wood pellets are currently exported by Canada, Finland and (to a small extent) Brazil and
Norway, and imported by Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the UK. In the Netherlands
and Belgium, pellet imports nowadays contribute to a major share to total renewable electricity
production. Trade in bio-ethanol is another example of a rapidly growing international market.
With the EU-wide target of 5.75% biofuels for transportation in 2010 (and 10% in 2020), exports
from Brazil and other countries to Europe are likely to rise as well. Major drivers for
international bioenergy trade in general are the large resource potentials and relatively low
production costs in producing countries such as Canada and Brazil, and high fossil fuel prices
and various policy incentives to stimulate biomass use in importing countries. However, the
logistic infrastructure both in exporting and importing countries needs to be developed to
access larger physical biomass volumes and to reach other (i.e. smaller) end-consumers. It is
concluded that international bioenergy trade is growing rapidly, far beyond what was deemed
r Ltd. All rights reserved.Junginger).
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B I O M A S S A N D B I O E N E R G Y 3 2 ( 2 0 0 8 ) 7 1 7 – 7 2 9718
possible only a few years ago, and may in the future in some Task 40 countries surpass
domestic biomass use, especially for specific applications (e.g. transport fuels).
& 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
IEA Bioenergy Task 40 was established under the Interna-
tional Energy Agency (IEA) Bioenergy Implementing Agree-
ment in December 2003 with the aim of focusing on
international bioenergy trade and its wider implications.
Bioenergy trade has expanded rapidly in recent years.
Forestry and agricultural residues, wood chips, pellets and
briquettes and liquid biofuels such as tall oil vegetable oils,
bio-ethanol and biodiesel are increasingly traded for applica-
tions such as electricity production (e.g. in gas- and coal-fired
power plants), residential space heating and as transportation
fuels. This trade occurs at significant scales in national,
regional and global energy markets. The future vision of IEA
Bioenergy Task 40 for global bioenergy trade is that it will
develop into a ‘‘global commodity market’’, which will secure
supply and demand in a sustainable way. The driving force
behind the expansion in bioenergy is the potential it holds in
providing an affordable and practical renewable source of
energy for climate change mitigation, energy security, and
rural development.
So far, the international trade of biomass is poorly covered.
Existing statistics often do not cover the end-use of traded
commodities such as bio-ethanol or palm oil, or specific
biomass fuels such as wood pellets are included in more
general categories, making it impossible to identify how
much is used for energy purposes. Also, substantial amounts
of biomass trade occur indirectly, e.g. traded roundwood, of
which parts (e.g. bark and sawdust) are used for energy
production [1]. A final obstacle for charting biomass trade
flows are the often still small volumes (compared with other
large-scale commodities, e.g. coal, roundwood, crude oil).
One of the explicit aims of Task 40 is to investigate
developments in international bioenergy trade and exchange
national experiences. To this end, the member countries of
Task 40 have written individual country reports covering
(amongst others) biomass production, policies to stimulate
biomass, international bioenergy trade and opportunities
and barriers for further trade. At the time of writing
(October 2007), the country reports of Belgium, Brazil, Canada,
Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK are
available on the Task 40 website [2]. In 2008, updated country
reports, also of the new members Germany and USA will be
published there as well. Scientific articles based on the Dutch,
Finnish, Norwegian and UK country reports are also pub-
lished elsewhere in this issue.
The aim of this paper is to present a synthesis of the main
developments and drivers of international bioenergy trade
identified in IEA Bioenergy Task 40 member countries. As the
member countries of Task 40 are rather heterogeneous, we
did not attempt to make a full-blown overview of all trade
developments in the member countries, but to provide an
overview of the energy characteristics and the contributions
and overall trade volumes of biomass to the total energy mix.
While global bioenergy trade is naturally not confined solely
to Task 40 countries, we aim to provide an overview of trends
which is likely to be similar in many other (OECD) countries.
Furthermore, we selected two specific cases: international
trade in wood pellets and bio-ethanol. We highlight current
developments in domestic production, import and export,
price levels and logistics (the later two only for pellets), and
potential further developments. In Section 5, we summarise a
number of trends, drivers and barriers for international
bioenergy trade derived from the various country reports.
Many of the barriers and opportunities for international
bioenergy trade identified in the country reports have been
described in another output of Task 40 entitled ‘‘Recommen-
dations for bioenergy trade’’ [3], and therefore will only be
considered briefly in this synthesis. The paper ends with a
summary and some short conclusions in Section 6.
2. Overview of the bioenergy markets andtrade in Task 40 member countries
To put the current international bioenergy trade into per-
spective, we present in brief the main characteristics of the
Task 40 member countries. Fig. 1 shows the contribution of all
renewable energy sources in general and bioenergy is shown
as share of the total primary energy supply (TPES) in 2004.
This graph illustrates the different situation in the different
member countries. For example, the Scandinavian countries,
Brazil and Canada have a high share of overall renewable
energy contributions (between 15% and 45% to the TPES). The
specific contribution of bioenergy to the TPES is particularly
high in Brazil (26%, mainly due to the use of bio-ethanol as
transportation fuel) and Finland (19%) and Sweden (16%),
mainly due to the use of various wood fuels in the forest
industries. On the other hand, in Belgium, the Netherlands
and the UK, the contributions of renewable energy are less
than 2% of the total TPES. However, biomass supplies 85–95%
of all renewable energy in these countries (see Fig. 1).
These differences are caused by many different characte-
ristics of these countries: Brazil and Canada are relatively
sparsely populated countries with large hydropower and
biomass potentials. The Scandinavian countries are similarly
characterized by large areas of (boreal) forests, and large
forestry industries. Norway has a special position, being
blessed with both large fossil fuel reserves and large hydro-
power potentials. On the other hand, the UK, Belgium and the
Netherlands are densely populated countries, with only
limited to marginal hydropower and biomass potentials,
though some fossil fuel reserves (e.g. gas and oil in the
Netherlands and the UK).
The contribution of renewable energy (and specifically
biomass) to the total gross electricity supply is even more
diverse as shown in Fig. 2. Perhaps the most extreme case is
Norway, with almost 100% of total electricity production from
ARTICLE IN PRESS
05
1015
202530
3540
4550
UK
Shar
e (%
)
% All renewables of TPES
% combustible renewables of TPES
94873440TPES (PJ):Belgium Brazil Canada Finland Norway Netherlands Sweden
22671594 11582415 8579 11265
Fig. 1 – Overview of total renewable and biomass contribution to the total primary energy supply in 2004 in Task 40 member
countries. Source: IEA [4]. The numbers below the bars give the total primary energy supply (TPES) per country in PJ. For
comparison, 100 PJ equals about 2.4 Mtoe (million tons oil equivalent) or 0.095 quads (1015 BTUs).
0.1
1
10
100
Shar
e (%
)
% Renewables
% Biomass
TGEG(TWh):UKBelgium Brazil Canada Finland Norway Netherlands Sweden
381.3155.898.5110.185.7590.3387.584.8
Fig. 2 – Overview of total renewable and biomass share in the total gross electricity generation (TGEG), defined as gross
production�amount of electricity produced in pumped storage plants. Renewables (and biomass) do not include industrial
waste, non-renewable municipal solid waste and pumped storage production. The numbers below the bars give the TGEG per
country in TWh. Source: IEA [4]. Note that the y-axis is on a logarithmic scale in order to facilitate visual comparison.
0102030405060708090
100
Belgium Braz
il
Canad
a
Finlan
d
Norway
Netherl
ands
Sweden UK
Trad
ed b
ioen
ergy
vol
ume
(PJ) Import
Export
1%
21% / 4%
24% / 32%
26%
43%
2%27% / 6%
13% / 2%
Fig. 3 – Overview of bioenergy imports/exports in IEA Bioenergy Task 40 member countries in 2004 (available at
www.bioenergytrade.org). Figures for Belgium and the UK refer to 2005. Percentages indicate the share of the traded volumes
as part of the domestic primary biomass supply [6]. Numbers should be considered as rough estimates, they do not
necessarily include all biomass streams.
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hydro and only 0.4% from biomass. Similar patterns of high
shares of hydro power and smaller shares of electricity from
biomass are found in Canada (2%) and Sweden (9%). In the
other member countries, biomass contributes a significant
share to the total renewable electricity production, ranging
from 40% to 65%.
Against this background we now take a closer look at the
traded biomass volumes in the Task 40 member countries. In
Fig. 3, we provide an overview of the imported and exported
biomass volumes, and compare them to the national primary
domestic supply of biomass for energy utilisation in Task 40
member countries. Quantifying the trade volumes is often
difficult because of several reasons:
1.
Biomass can be used for several (energy) purposes, such asresidential heating, electricity production or transporta-
tion fuels. In Fig. 3, these volumes have been added up for
each country. In some cases, not for all biomass applica-
tions data were available.
2.
In our analysis, only biomass imports or exports areincluded, for which the intended the end-use was energy.
For example, we needed to make estimates on how much
of Brazilian bio-ethanol exports are used as transportation
fuel abroad, or how much of the waste wood exported
by the Netherlands is co-fired for electricity or heat
production.
3.
International biomass trade can be divided in direct andindirect trade. Direct trade comprises biomass to be used
directly for energy purposes (for example wood pellets
imported for co-firing), while indirect trade consists of
flows of raw materials that end up as energy fuel after a
prior production process (e.g. roundwood imports to
Norway or Finland, of which a fraction is used for energy
purposes in the form of saw dust or black liquor). Again,
estimates were necessary to calculate the respective
volumes of indirect biomass trade. For a more compre-
hensive analysis of the methodological issues, see [5],
elsewhere in this special issue.
4.
So far, only few organisations keep track of internationalbioenergy trade. The IEA renewables statistics [6] also
include ‘net import of biomass’ for various biomass
categories in their statistics. However, in some cases they
report deviating numbers, e.g. zero imports or exports for
Sweden and Canada for 2004, which is not in line with our
findings. Also, reported net import numbers by IEA
statistics only cover biomass trade, while in Fig. 3, for
the Swedish and Finnish data, also indirect imports are
included.
In many cases, the data are (partially) incomplete, or may
only cover either import or export. Thus, the figures should be
considered (rough) estimates. Nevertheless, they can provide
a general overview of the current international trade activities
per country, and also indicate how dependent the biomass-
based economy is on international trade. The situation in the
individual countries is briefly described below.
Belgium: Data were available only on biomass import for co-
firing in gas and coal power plants. The data includes imports
of wood pellets (400 kt in 2005) and vegetal oils (100 kt in 2005).
More biomass streams have been imported for energy
production (e.g. olive cake, coffee ground), but exact amounts
are not known. Furthermore, significant amounts of e.g.
round wood, wood waste and scrap, bio-ethanol and peat
have been both imported and exported, but the end-use
(e.g. energy or material) is not known, and thus has not been
included in Fig. 3. Even when excluding these volumes, the
amount of imported biomass is substantial (ca. 43%) com-
pared with the domestic primary biomass supply. For more
information, see [7].
Brazil: The export data is based on 2.5 Mm3 of bio-ethanol,
and small amount of green wood chips and wood pellets. The
main countries importing Brazilian bio-ethanol are India, the
US, South Korea and Sweden. It was estimated that approxi-
mately 75% of bio-ethanol sold to EU countries, USA, India,
and China, ends up as transportation fuel, for all other
countries this was estimated to be 25%. No data were
available on the import of biomass for energy, but this is
expected to be negligible. Brazil currently only exports a
relatively small amount of biomass (2%) compared with its
domestic biomass production, though this amount may
increase significantly in the future (see also Section 4). For
more information, see [8].
Canada: Exported biomass takes into account amounts to
400 kt of wood pellets in 2004. This is a very small amount
compared the domestic biomass production (an estimated
1%), but as in the case of Brazil, these amounts are expected
to increase strongly in the near future (see Section 3). No
attempt was made to quantify how much of the Canadian
exports of roundwood and other wood products end up
(indirectly) as bioenergy. For more information, see [9].
Finland: Within the frame of IEA Bioenergy Task 40, probably
the most detailed and complete analysis of all biomass flows
have been collected for Finland. The wooden raw material
streams of the forest industry were included in the interna-
tional biofuels trade in addition to biomass streams that are
traded for energy production. In 2004, as much as 45% of the
raw wood imported into Finland ended up indirectly in energy
production. The total international trading of biofuels was
evaluated at 72 PJ, of which the majority, 58 PJ, was raw wood.
About 22% of wood-based energy in Finland originated from
imported raw wood. Tall oil and wood pellets composed the
largest export streams of biofuels. The annual turnover of
international biofuels trade was estimated at about h90
million for direct trade and at about h190 million for indirect
trade. The forest industry as the biggest user of wood, and the
producer and user of wood fuels has a central position in
biomass and biofuels markets in Finland. Lately, the interna-
tional biofuels trade in Finland has been dominated by import
of raw wood and export of wood pellets. In the near future,
imports of liquid biofuels for the transportation sector are
likely. Thus, in coming years, the international trading of
biomass for energy purposes can be expected to continue
growing. For more information, see [1].
Norway: In Norway, direct trade of biofuels is currently
limited (less than 3 PJ), and consists mainly of firewood from
Estonia, Latvia and Sweden. Norway is a net exporter of
refined solid biofuels, but the quantities are quite minor
(o1 PJ). The overcapacity of refined biofuel production units
does presumably reflect expectations of a growing market for
bioenergy domestically. Indirect trade of biofuels is more
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B I O M A S S A N D B I O E N E R G Y 3 2 ( 2 0 0 8 ) 7 1 7 – 7 2 9 721
substantial (an estimated import of about 3.8 PJ). For more
information, see [10] and the article of Bolkesjø et al.,
elsewhere in this issue.
Netherlands: Until the year 2000, the Netherlands barely
imported biomass for energy production. Over the last few
years, both the import and export of biomass for energy
purposes have been strongly increasing, over a factor of seven
in terms of electricity produced between 2003 and 2005 alone.
The biomass imported is used to almost 100% in Dutch power
plants (mainly coal and two gas-fired plants), and can be
roughly divided into the following categories: liquid biofuels
like palm oil and fatty acids, and solids, such as agro residues
(e.g. palm kernel expeller), wood chips and wood-derived
fuels (wood pellets), and solid waste streams (e.g. bone meal).
In total, in 2004 about 9.9 PJ was imported. The exported
biomass consists mainly of waste wood and construction
wood, accumulating to 13.4 PJ. As the Netherlands do not have
a large wood-processing industry, no indirect trade volumes
were taken into account. Thus, in 2004, about 24% of the total
primary biomass supply was imported, while an amount
equivalent of 32% was exported for energy production.
Regarding the biofuels for transportation, production and
use of biofuels in the Netherlands was negligible in 2004. To
meet the 5.75% biofuels obligation, the only option will be on
the short term to either importing ethanol and biodiesel, or
their precursors (e.g. grains, vegetable oils or oil seeds). For
more information, see [11] and elsewhere in this issue.
Sweden: The official Swedish statistics is a poor source of
information for biomass import. Biomass is imported under
different definitions and it is often mixed with other
categories of products. This is especially true for wood in
unrefined forms. Round wood in form of pulp wood and saw
logs is normally imported in undebarked form, and as the
bark is used for energy purposes it could be classified as
‘‘imported biomass’’. The same could be the case for saw dust
and other residues from imported logs. Moreover, a portion of
the round wood import consists of energy wood for direct use
(after comminution) for energy generation. However, the
import statistics does not separate the various types of round
wood. In total, it is estimated that Sweden imported 59 PJ of
round wood and chips directly for energy use, and that
another 26 PJ of imported round wood and chips and up
indirectly for energy production. Other imported bioenergy
carriers are wood pellets, ethanol (for transportation) and tall
oil. Regarding future trends, three trends were identified for
Sweden: (1) trade is shifting from local to regional and now
more international; (2) major demand is shifting from Sweden
to (also) demand in other parts of Europe; (3) there is an
increasing fuel quality concern. For more details see [12].
United Kingdom: It is difficult to obtain detailed information
concerning the level of bioenergy imports into the UK since
information at a company level is commercially sensitive in
nature and at sectoral level little information is collected
centrally. At the same time, international trade statistics
often do not classify products (such as wood pellet) in
sufficient detail. Much of the material imported is for co-
firing in coal-fired power plants. Over 1.4 Mt of biomass was
co-fired in 2005, of which about two thirds were imported
biomass. It is difficult to determine trade patterns for co-firing
since imported feedstocks are typically purchased on spot
markets through intermediaries and operators have the
ability to switch between different suppliers and different
feedstocks to pursue best value for money. However, the UK
co-firing market has developed into a key market for
agricultural residues that have few alternative uses. For
example, the UK accounted for over 55% of imports of dry
olive cake into EU Member States. The UK is a nascent
producer and consumer of many forms of bioenergy. This
means that trade in bioenergy exists for products consumed
for energy in the UK that are not yet produced domestically.
For example, 85,000 m3 of bio-ethanol were consumed in road
transport in 2005 even though the UK does not yet produce
bio-ethanol commercially. This represented 0.17% of total fuel
sales by volume [13]. By contrast, over 1.7 PJ of biodiesel was
produced in 2005, while only 1 PJ was consumed in road
transport. For more details see [14].
Summarizing, it is evident that most European Task 40
member countries import significant amounts of biomass,
varying from 12% to 43% of all biomass utilisation, and that
these shares generally tend to increase over the next years.
While in all Task 40 member countries domestic biomass
utilisation still outweighs use of imported biomass, this may
change, especially when regarding specific biomass fuels. For
example, for the Netherlands, meeting the 5.75% biofuels
obligation will (on the short term) only be possible importing
almost 100% of its demand, either in the form of ethanol and
biodiesel, or their precursors (e.g. grains, vegetable oils or oil
seeds). Regarding biomass exports, Brazil and Canada so far
only export a minor fraction of their domestic biomass use
(1–2%), but again, this share is expected to rise rapidly.
3. International pellet trade
Wood pellets are one of the most successful bioenergy-based
commodities traded internationally. Wood pellets offer a
number of advantages compared with other solid biomass
fuels: they generally have a low moisture content and a
relatively high heating value (about 17 MJ/kg), which allows
long-distance transport by ship without affecting the energy
balance. Handling during transport is relatively easy, and they
can be stored over long periods without significant loss of dry
matter. Applications of wood pellets vary from small-scale
residential heating to large-scale co-firing in coal power
plants. As wood pellets generally contain no contaminants
as heavy metals, they are a very ‘clean’ and green fuel as well.
Due to the additional costs of refining pellets from raw
material such as saw dust, production costs per MJ are on
average higher than e.g. of wood chips or agricultural waste
streams. On the other hand, policy support measures for the
production of renewable electricity in various European
countries and rising heating oil prices have enabled wood
pellets to successfully compete with fossil fuels.
These attractive properties have caused the demand for
wood pellets to soar upwards over the last years. In the
sections below, we describe the main developments in
production, consumption, international trade, prices levels
and logistic challenges, mainly from the perspective of the
T40 member countries. For an overview of pellet trade in the
T40 member countries, see Table 1.
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Table 1 – Domestic pellet production, production capacity, domestic consumption, import and export in 2004 in task 40member countries
Domestic production Production capacity Domestic consumption Import Export
Belgium n.a. 18 n.a. 80 n.a.
Brazil 35 n.a. 25 0 10
Canada 450 550 20 0 430
Finland 190 450 47 0 157
The Netherlands 80 100 200 160 n.a.
Norway 35 80 35 0.2 5.6
Sweden 900 1159 1250 350 0
UK 0 100 n.a.a n.a.a 0
All numbers are in kt. Data sources: IEA Task 40 country reports, with additions from Dahl [20] and Bioenergy international [21]. All data should
be considered estimates.a No data available for 2004. For comparison, for 2005, domestic production was estimated at 52 kt, imports were estimated between 114 and
164 kt and domestic consumption between 216 and 337 kt.
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
Woo
d pe
llets
(Mt)
Domestic production
Export
Import
Total consumption
20102009200820072006200520042003200220012000199919981997
Fig. 4 – Overview of the Swedish pellet market, including domestic production, imports, domestic consumption and exports.
Figures for 2008–2010 are estimates. Source: PIR [15].
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3.1. Domestic wood pellet production and consumption
The most-important pellet producer of the T40 member
countries is Sweden, with a domestic production of a little
under 1 Mt in 2004, and expected increase of production to
about 1.8 Mt until 2008 (see also Fig. 4). Sweden is a leading
producer of pellets in the world, surpassed only by the US.
The raw materials for pellets are by-products of the Swedish
lumbering, milling, woodworking and pulp industries [15].
Total domestic consumption typically exceeds production by
10–20%, making the import of pellets necessary (see also
Fig. 4).
The second most-important producer of wood pellets of the
Task 40 member countries is Canada. Manufacture and export
of wood pellets in Canada has grown exponentially in the
past several years, primarily on the west coast (see Fig. 5). In
2004, there were at least 11 pellet plants in Canada, almost
half in British Columbia (BC). Several plants are currently
being built or upgraded to take advantage not only of the
surplus mill residue situation in BC, but also the huge
potential wood supply from Mountain Pine Beetle affected
stands (for more information, see [9]). The production
capacity in BC could reach 1 Mt within 2 years and 1.5 Mt
within 3 years. However, overseas contracts will have to
be concluded as the expansion progresses. The export to
Europe for 2005 exceeded 400 kt from Western Canada alone
(primarily BC), as shown in Fig. 5. So far BC has produced only
white pellets. BC has also a large potential to produce brown
pellets, which contain large amounts of bark, and have much
less benign combustion properties than white pellets from
sawdust. If brown pellets become accepted in the market
place there is a very large potential sitting in the background
as a reserve. Furthermore, a recent trend is for the large
forest companies to consider building a combination of
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0
200
400
600
800
1.000
1.200
1.400
Woo
d pe
llets
(kt)
Capacity
Production
Domestic Sales
US Sales
Overseas Sales
2006200520042003200220012000199919981997
Fig. 5 – Overview of the (western) Canadian wood pellet production, domestic use and export [8].
B I O M A S S A N D B I O E N E R G Y 3 2 ( 2 0 0 8 ) 7 1 7 – 7 2 9 723
cogeneration and pellet mills with the pellets being exported.
Domestic consumption has been very low (about 20 kt/year)
but recently also started to rise (see also Fig. 5).
A third country with significant wood pellet production is
Finland. Pellets and briquettes are refined solid biomass fuels
and they can be produced from wooden raw material and
peat. In Finland, both products are manufactured and both
raw materials used. Wood pellets have the largest share
among these products at present, while briquette production
and trade is in general (much) lower than pellet trade. Wood
pellet production in Finland started in 1998. Since then pellet
production has increased steadily and was 190 kt (3.2 PJ) in
2004. Dry by-products from the sawn timber-refining industry
are the major raw material in wood pellet production. At the
end of 2005, there were 17 wood pellet factories in operation.
For comparison, also some 20 kt (0.4 PJ) of peat pellets were
produced in Finland [16–18]. The Finnish wood briquette
production has been estimated at 35 kt equalling 0.6 PJ in
2000. Wood briquettes are manufactured in small units and
the largest units produce about 5 kt briquettes annually. In
2000, a total of 21 wood briquette production units existed in
the country [19]. The current production of wood briquettes is
estimated constant compared with the year 2000 volume.
Wood briquettes are mainly used crushed in larger CHP
plants.
Domestic pellet production in the other T40 member
countries was relatively small, see for an overview Table 1.
Domestic pellet consumption on the other had has been
increasing in several countries such as the Netherlands,
Belgium and the UK, but this is mainly covered through import,
see Section 3.2. In these three countries, pellets have
increasingly been used for co-firing in coal power plants.
Also, these markets have grown quickly. For example, while it
was estimated that Belgium imported about 80 kt in 2004 [20],
this amount had increased to 600 kt in 2005 [7].
3.2. International trade of wood pellets
As can be seen from Table 1 and Figs. 4 and 5, Canada and
Finland are major exporters of wood pellets, while Belgium,
the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK are all (major) importing
countries. Only in Norway and Brazil, pellet trade has been
marginal up until 2004.
The greatest opportunity for pellet exports from Canada, as
largest exporting country, is in BC. For companies in BC, with
ocean ports in close proximity, the market is primarily
Europe, such as Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Similarly, McTara in Nova Scotia sells largely into Europe.
Pellets from these regions are exported to amongst others
Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK. Productive
capacity in central Canada (companies in Alberta and Quebec)
is not near ocean ports and thus production is largely
destined for the US market.
The Finnish pellet industry has been founded on exporta-
tion, and in 2004, the export of wood pellets was 157 kt, three
quarters of its total production. Sweden (56%), Denmark (23%)
and the Netherlands (20%) were the main destination for the
exported wood pellets.
Sweden, on the other hand, has a larger domestic demand
than its own wood industry and pellet mills can supply,
and has been importing pellets over the last decade (see
also Fig. 4). Pellets are imported mainly from Canada
(112 kt in 2005), the Baltic states (110 kt in 2005) and Finland
(80 kt).
In the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK, pellets have
increasingly been used for co-firing in coal power plants
during the last 5 years or so. Also, these markets have
grown quickly. For example, while it was estimated that
Belgium imported about 80 kt in 2004 [20], this amount
had increased to 600 kt in 2005 [7]. However, in 2006, wood
pellets originating from one of the early producers in
Wallonia were exported to Italy at a price of 160 h/t, shipment
by train being paid in addition by the importer. Italy has
indeed a booming domestic sector for wood pellets and Italy
is importing from many European countries, Austria being
the largest exporter.
The only two countries with so far low amounts of traded
wood pellets are Brazil (10 kt exports) and Norway (5.6 kt
exports). However, given the presence of a wood industry and
the large resource base in both countries, it is quite possible
that both countries will be exporting larger volumes in the
future.
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3.3. Production costs and price levels
Given the different availability and demand for wood pellets,
production costs and price levels may differ significantly in
the T40 member countries. Next to the available supply
potentials, these price differences are of course the major
driver behind the developing international pellet trade. All
currencies have been converted to Euros using the average
exchange rate of 2004: 1h equalled 1.242 US$, 1.617 Can$ and
0.679 GBP.
Brazil reports the lowest prices, ranging from 0.56h/GJ
(free on board in the Amazon) to 1.37h/GJ (delivered to
ports in the Southeast). Delivered to small end-users,
cheapest prices for packed pellets have been reported at
42h/t (2.18 h/GJ) [22].
Canada, as major exporting country reports average prices
of 2.7h/GJ at the pellet mill (i.e. including raw material,
manufacturing, debt and equity), and about 3.2h/GJ for local
transport to a port, storage and overseas shipment [23],
resulting in a delivered price at e.g. Rotterdam harbour of
5.9h/GJ.
The Netherlands as one of the importers of pellets, report
that fuel prices for wood pellets at the plant gate have been
fluctuating between 7 and 7.5h/GJ in 2004, [24], as opposed to
6.4 in 2002/2003 [25]. The higher prices are mainly due to
increased transportation costs (about 1.75h/GJ). In 2005,
prices were quoted by experts around 140 US$/t, i.e. 6.2 h/GJ.
Norway reports the highest pellet prices. Hovi [26] analysed
cost of domestic production and delivery of solid biofuels in
Norway, based on a survey among Norwegian producers.
Production and logistic costs of wood chips from pine
pulpwood, including transport of chips and sales, are
estimated to about 100 h/t dry wood (about 6.1 h/GJ) for annual
production volumes above 10 kt and transport distances of
50 km for the raw material and the chips. Biomass
costs represent almost 50% of the total costs. Correspond-
ing production and logistic costs of pellets are estimated
to 200–220h/t (11.7–12.8h/GJ), when assuming transport
distances of 50 km for roundwood and 150 km for pellets.
In pellets production, biomass takes about 30% of the
total costs, while pelleting takes 15%. Transport of pellets,
storage, packing and sales are other significant cost compo-
nents.
For the UK, prices are reported for the small-scale heating
market. The heat market is very attractive firstly for its size
and secondly for its competitiveness with natural gas e.g.
6.1h/GJ for pellets compared with 9.6h/GJ for natural gas. It is
expected that this market will largely be supplied domes-
tically rather than by imports given that the majority of
applications are small scale. To achieve this, it would require
the development of a good production and supply infra-
structure. So far, the UK lacks experience in the production of
pellets.
In Belgium, average prices for power plants have increased
from 5.5 to about 7.5h/GJ, between 2004 and 2006, mainly due
to a shortage of production versus consumption during the
winter 2005–2006 and increasing margins taken by traders.
Domestic market has developed recently even though it
remains limited and prices including delivery are above
200h/t (11.7h/GJ).
3.4. Pellet logistics
As mentioned above, pellets are very suitable for (long-distance)
transport. Still developing the required logistics is seen as one of
the key challenges to further expand the international pellet
trade, especially from the exporting countries.
In Finland, wood pellets are exported almost totally by
means of maritime transport. As bulk material, wood
pellets are relatively easy to transport and ports suitable for
dry-cargo vessels and barges can be utilised in the transpor-
tation. Available indoor storage and material handling equip-
ment for dry bulk in a port facilitate the loading of pellets into
the vessel. There is plenty of underutilised port capacity in
Finland available for the handling and transportation of
pellets. At least the ports of Oulu, Kokkola, Kaskinen, Inkoo,
Loviisa and Joensuu are used in their export [1].
In Canada and Brazil, logistics are currently more signifi-
cant barriers to the development of wood pellet trade.
In Brazil, a considerable amount of planted forests is
presently located at places were freight is quite expensive
up to maritime ports, mainly because of the high cost of
transporting biomass by trucks. Compared with free on board
values, prices may increase about 50% in some harbours, and
up to a factor of three when transported to Europe. Fluvial
transport may be a solution for the Northern and Western
region due the existence of several rivers appropriate for this
purpose. For the Northeastern and Southeastern regions,
fluvial transport should be mixed with railway as the main
alternatives. For all those regions, crop transport has already
started through a multi-modal way in which some connec-
tions are made by trucks. Mass densification through pellet
and briquettes production may be an alternative to reduce
costs of transport for some cases but it depends on an
appropriate cost–benefit analysis. Recent studies made by
Dolzan and Walter [27] have analysed 17 potential production
sites. If no improvement in logistics is assumed, just one
location (Amapa) may achieve competitive prices for export-
ing pellets to Europe (Netherlands). However, when consider-
ing a series of new configurations and improvements in
logistics, the number of places with competitive pellet prices
for exporting would rise to 14.
Brazil is highly privileged in terms of places for structuring
ports. However, most of the existing ports are public and their
services are both expensive (outstanding tariffs) and ineffi-
cient (there are some exceptions). In addition, they are not
equipped for fast carrying of wood pellets or chips, which
both have low aggregated value. To solve this problem, private
ports located at strategic places and conveniently equipped
with belt-carriers have been used for wood chips exports.
A least three big companies for both energy and pulp
purposes have their own ports. These companies have
presented highly competitive prices at outstanding levels if
ordinary freights and port taxes are taken into account and
the likely reason is efficiency not dumping [27]. Higher
aggregated value products such as high-density briquettes
and packed charcoal for residential uses, may be traded at
higher prices, as their volumes are often lower and generally
they are shipped in containers.
Similarly, developing logistics is also crucial for the rate of
pellet industry expansion in Canada. Due to their geographical
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position, the central Canadian provinces are only able to
export to the US. For British Columbia and Alberta, lower
costs for railing pellets to the coast, sustained low ocean
freight rates and new loading facilities are required to be
competitive in world markets. A consolidation of railing for
all mills is in the final stage of negotiation. Ocean freight rates
escalated up to 80% at the end of 2003, a painful experience
for individual exporters. However, it did not stop export. In
2006, freight rates were back at the mid 2003 level, however, a
lower cost structure for ocean shipping has to be maintained.
Infrastructural changes in the shipping industry as well as in
the Chinese industrial policy of more domestic raw material
supply will hopefully keep the ocean rates lower. Some
suppliers are locked-in to rates from mid 2003 and have been
somewhat immune to the price roller coaster. To handle the
sharp increases in capacity, more cost-efficient vessel-loading
facilities need to be put in place. A new dedicated pellet
loading facility is being erected in Port of Vancouver and
should be in operation in October 2005. This terminal will
handle 1 Mt/year and could be expanded to handle twice that
volume over time. Construction of a new loading terminal in
Port of Prince Rupert to replace the one just closed is being
pursued and could be a reality in 2 years [9].
On the other hand, infrastructural changes in the importing
countries depend mainly on the final application of the pellet.
In the case of the Netherlands, Belgium, at this moment
pellets are almost exclusively used as fuel for co-firing. Thus,
they can often make use of present supply chains and
infrastructure for coal. When large amounts of pellets are
co-fired, dedicated (un-) loading facilities are needed. For
example, in the Netherlands, Essent built a custom-made
pellet unloading station next to its Amer coal power plant.
The development of logistics has also allowed for the energy-
efficient transport of pellets. For example, in Belgium, the
sustainability criteria implemented within the certification
process include (amongst others) energy efficiency for making
the biofuels and for transporting them. From 26 examples of
suppliers that have been considered by Electrabel, it appears
that all are much more efficient than Belgian authorities
thought at the beginning. Even suppliers located overseas
compete very well with European ones if they put the accent
on efficiency and scale effect. This is also the positive result of
the availability of a large sea harbour like Antwerp that is fairly
well connected to the rest of the country with rivers and
channels, making transportation very efficient.
In Brazil, Sweden, and the UK pellets are also increasingly
used on a small scale e.g. for restaurants and bakeries (Brazil)
and small residential heating (Sweden and the UK). While this
demand is largely covered by local supply, in the future it is
well possible that international pellet trade may also become
relevant for small-scale consumers.
3.5. Barriers to international pellet trade
While pellet trade with Europe is in full swing, there are many
barriers to enhanced trade in pellets and other biofuels,
including:
1.
Indirect trade barriers for import in certain areas ofEurope. For example, the UK is promoting domestic supply
of biomass and restricts subsidies if the imports exceed
certain limits, resulting in almost no trading of pellets into
the UK. Consequently, no receiving facilities exist for
Panamax size vessels, a requirement for BC producers. UK
utilities continually request millions of tonnes of pellets,
but none are able or willing to invest in receiving facilities
due to government subsidy policies (for more information
on the situation in the UK, including subsidy policies,
see [14]).
2.
No common standard for pellets. Some countries inEurope have pellet standards, some have none, and even
those that have are different. A common standard is
preferred, and it is understood that initiatives are under-
way (e.g. the CEN/TC 335 biomass standards [28]).
3.
High freight costs. A sharp increase in shipping costs in2003 made trade between Canada and Europe difficult.
Biomass power facilities require an uninterrupted supply
of feedstock, and Canada was often considered a supplier
of last resort due to supply uncertainties.
4. International bio-ethanol productionand trade
Of the current Task 40 members, Brazil clearly is the most-
important producer and user of bio-ethanol as transportation
fuel. Worldwide, Brazil is the largest producer of sugarcane. It
is estimated that the production in the last harvest season
(2005–2006) has reached 410 Mt [8]. The sugarcane production
has risen during the last 5 harvest seasons (on average
9.7%/year). Besides the rise of bio-ethanol domestic demand,
other factors are pushing the growth of sugarcane industry in
Brazil, such as: (i) high demand for sugar both in the domestic
and international market, (ii) the rise of bio-ethanol exports
and (iii) the continuous improvements in productivity.
Currently, Brazil has around 320 combined sugar mills and
bio-ethanol distilleries with a further 51 under construction,
including new plants and expansion of existing ones. The bio-
ethanol production capacity was estimated as 18 Mm3 in 2005.
Favourable conditions to bioenergy expansion have led to
the situation that nowadays cane-derived fuel ethanol covers
more than 30% of automobile gasoline demand. In compar-
ison, ethanol exports are minor, but rapidly growing in recent
years. Fig. 6 shows Brazil’s bio-ethanol trade since 1970.
Market opportunities and constraints have determined
exports and imports. An expressive amount of alcohol was
imported during the 1990s, first during the supply shortage of
bio-ethanol (1990–1991) and, after, when international sugar
markets were favourable for exports (1993–1997). Tradition-
ally, Brazilian exports of bio-ethanol have been oriented for
beverage production and industrial purposes but, recently,
trade for fuel purposes has enlarged. As can be seen in Fig. 6,
after 2000 Brazilian exports of bio-ethanol have risen steadily.
In 2004, exports reached 2.5 Mm3 and it is estimated that
almost the same amount was exported in 2005. As a rough
estimate, approximately 60% of these exported volumes may
be destined as fuel ethanol.
In Table 2, an overview is given of the major countries
importing and exporting ethanol.
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-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
Bio
-eth
anol
trad
e [M
m3 ]
ImportsExports
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Fig. 6 – Trade in bio-ethanol in Brazil 1970–2005, including all end-uses [8].
Table 2 – Share of total global ethanol exports andimporting per country in 2005 [29]
Import % Export %
USA 18 Brazil 48
Japan 11 USA 6
India 8 France 6
Germany 8 S. Africa 6
Netherlands 8 China 5
UK 6 UK 5
Korea 5 Netherlands 4
France 4 Germany 2
Others 32 Others 18
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Canada is also a bio-ethanol producer, though on a much
smaller scale than Brazil. In 2004, six bio-ethanol plants in
Canada produced 0.238 Mm3 of bio-ethanol. All production
was from grain, except 17,000 m3 of wood-based bio-ethanol
from Tembec, a major forest products company. As part of a
major effort to increase bio-ethanol production, in October
2004 the federal government announced its financial support
in the construction of seven new grain bio-ethanol plants
with the capacity to produce over 0.72 Mm3/year The expan-
sion will bring production capacity to 1 Mm3. In spite of this
expansion, it is not expected that a meaningful amount will
be available for export initially as the Canadian market will
absorb most of the bio-ethanol produced to 2008.
In Finland, domestic and imported bio-ethanol is commonly
used as feedstock in the chemical industry (e.g. for ETBE
production). In addition, imported industrial bio-ethanol has
been used as an additive to gasoline. Despite the insignificant
domestic consumption of biofuels in transportation, the
domestic production of liquid biofuels is increasing signifi-
cantly in Finland. The Finnish oil company Neste Oil
Corporation started the production of bio-ETBE (ethyltertio
butyl-ether) at its Porvoo refinery in 2004. ETBE is an additive
that enhances the octane rating of petrol similarly to the
fossil MTBE (replacing lead and benzene in unleaded petrol)
and reduces emissions. ETBE is produced by combining bio-
ethanol and fossil isobutylene. The proportion of the bio-
based component in ETBE is slightly less than half. Neste Oil
has also another ETBE production plant in Portugal and
company’s total ETBE production capacity is approximately
150 kt/year. ETBE production is mainly based on foreign
feedstock acquired from world markets [30]. In 2004, the
production of ETBE in Finland was in total 48 kt, and the
production was predominantly exported. In the same year,
23.8 kt of bio-ethanol was used as feedstock. Neste Oil’s
annual production capacity of ETBE in Finland is currently
85 kt. The import of ETBE was estimated at zero and the entire
production volume of ETBE was calculated to have been
exported in the energy balance.
Sweden is a large-scale importer of liquid biofuels. The
import of propellant biofuel, mainly bio-ethanol for 2004 was
about 0.2 Mm3. Due to changes in the duty regulations
effective 01-01-2006, the quantity for 2006 would be consider-
ably reduced. Propellant biofuels, mainly bio-ethanol have
their origins in southern Europe and in Brazil. The bio-ethanol
from southern Europe is based on the wine industry,
while the Brazilian supply emanates from the sugar industry
[12]. In comparison, Sweden also produces bio-ethanol.
There is a grain bio-ethanol production plant in Norrkoping,
which produces about 50,000 m3/year, and scheduled to
expand to produce additionally 0.11–0.15 Mm3/year from
2008 onwards [31].
Another importer of bio-ethanol is the UK. The UK imported
85,000 m3 of bio-ethanol for use in road transport in 2005. The
only bio-ethanol sold commercially is an E5 blend sold by
Greenergy Fuels [32]. The bio-ethanol used in this blend is
imported from Brazil. This represented 0.17% of total fuel
sales by volume [13]. Bio-ethanol is not yet produced
commercially in the UK. The facility that was to be the first
bio-ethanol plant in the UK, a partnership between BP,
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DuPont and British Sugar, recently announced that the plant
would produce bio-butanol instead of bio-ethanol [33].
Until the end of 2005, the Netherlands had a negligible
utilisation of biofuels, and also no substantial domestic
production of biofuels for transportation took place. This
does, however, not imply, that there was no trade in biofuels.
Vopak, a major distributor of bio-ethanol, reports that the
transfer of bio-ethanol in the harbour of Rotterdam has
trebled over the past 3 years, from 200 kt in 2001 to 600 kt in
2004 [34]. It is however unclear, whether this bio-ethanol was
used as transportation fuel, and how much was again
exported to e.g. Germany or Sweden. Vopak expects further-
more that the future demand for bio-ethanol is estimated at
10 Mt/year. In addition, Shell reports, that it is the first fuel
supplier in the Netherlands to anticipate, on a large scale, the
government’s requirement compelling suppliers to include a
bio-component in their fuels from 2007 onwards [35]. Shell
has been blending ETBE (ethyl tertiary butyl-ether) into its
Euro 95 petrol since January 2006. This ETBE is based on bio-
ethanol. The total quantities and the origin of the bio-ethanol
are, however, not known.
Finally, in Norway about 4200 m3 biofuels (mainly bio-
ethanol and biodiesel) was used in the transport sector in
2004. This represents only 0.1% of the total market [10]. For
Belgium, no information on ethanol production and trade was
available.
5. Trends, drivers and barriers forinternational bioenergy trade in T40 countries
Below, a short selection of topics is presented, that were
indicated in one or several of the T40 country reports as main
trends, drivers and barriers for international trade. This list is
not exhaustive. For a more comprehensive overview, see also
the individual country reports and the opportunities and
barriers for trade [3].
5.1. Bioenergy trade: from local to regional,and now more international
A development seen all over Europe is the growth of
international bioenergy trade. A typical example is Sweden:
the bioenergy sector in Sweden started as a local demand and
supply in the late 1970s and 1980s. In the 1990s, energy
facilities started a regional market for biomass by import of
cheap recycled demolished wood from Holland and Germany
and thereafter also wood chips from the Baltics. Now steps
are taken to an international market in which prices of
biomass for energy are set in competition with products from
sources far away, e.g. from south of Europe as well as from
North and South America. Some years ago Sweden was
almost the only country in Europe when it came to demand
for import of biomass for energy. This created a favourable
situation with low prices and reliable sourcing.
5.2. Low data availability and methodological issuesregarding direct and indirect trade
In most cases, national customs and energy statistics include
a varying amount of usable statistical information on inter-
national biomass trade. A positive example is Finland, as the
Finnish energy statistics include the export of wood pellets
and fuel peat, and the volume of imported wood fuels in
primary energy consumption. In most other Task 40 member
countries, such as the Netherlands or the UK, the national
statistics do not include such information. Therefore, the
compilation of statistics on international biomass trade should
be further developed to provide a better view of international
biofuels trade. Next to the lack of information compiled
centrally by government departments or trade organisations,
this is also due to the reluctance of suppliers and consumers to
provide data as this is often regarded as commercially sensitive,
and difficulties with classification of trade statistics as most
imports are not necessarily classified as energy.
Another aspect is the indirect import of biomass, mainly
occurring in countries with a large pulp and paper sector,
such as Finland, Norway and Sweden. Both in Finland and
Norway, the indirect trade of biofuels is emphasised within
the import of raw wood for the forest industry. International
streams of wood and wood-based products and the indirect
trade of biofuels have yet to be extensively studied and would
offer interesting subjects for further research in order to learn
more about biofuels markets.
5.3. Dependency on (varying) policy support
In many European countries, such as Belgium, Sweden, the
Netherlands and the UK, favourable policies for renewable
electricity energy production and use (e.g. electricity, heat and
transportation fuels) are a main driver for the import of
biomass. However, experiences show that this may drive up
prices, as was apparent over the past few years for wood
pellets and other biomass streams. Also, varying policy
incentives can disturb market mechanisms, as was recently
shown for biomass trade between Germany and the Nether-
lands [36]. Also policies in favour of biofuels for transport tend
to work as a driver for import of biofuels.
5.4. Sustainability criteria and certification systemsfor biomass
Within several of the Task 40 member countries, companies,
NGO’s and national governments have realized the necessity
to safeguard the sustainable production of (imported) bio-
mass. Certification of biomass is seen as one possibility to
ensure sustainable production, though there are several
approaches possible (e.g. national vs. international systems,
mandatory vs. voluntary), and a number of apparent draw-
backs. For examples of initiatives in amongst others Belgium,
Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, and an extensive
discussion on possibilities and drawbacks of certification
issues, we refer to another paper in this special issue by van
Dam et al. [37]. Here, we conclude that the sustainable
production of biomass is an issue that will likely increasingly
influence international bioenergy trade in the future.
6. Summary and conclusions
The use of biomass for energy varies between a few percent
of the national energy supply up to significant shares
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(e.g. 15–25% in Finland, Sweden and Brazil). In many
European countries such as Belgium, Finland, the Nether-
lands, Sweden and the UK, imported biomass forms already a
significant part of the total biomass use (between 21% and
43%). Wood pellets are currently exported by Canada, Finland
and (to a small extent) Brazil and Norway, and imported by
Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the UK. In the
Netherlands and Belgium, pellet imports nowadays contri-
bute to a large share to total renewable electricity production.
Trade in bio-ethanol is another example of a rapidly growing
international market. With the EU-wide target of 5.75%
biofuels for transportation in 2010 (and the recently an-
nounced target of 10% in 2020), exports from Brazil and other
countries to Europe are likely to rise as well. Major drivers for
international bioenergy trade in general are the large resource
potentials and relatively low production costs in producing
countries such as Canada and Brazil, and high fossil fuel
prices and various policy incentives to stimulate biomass use
in importing countries. However, also barriers are somewhat
hindering the market development: (i) developing the re-
quired logistic infrastructure both in exporting and importing
countries is required to access larger physical biomass
volumes and to reach other (i.e. smaller) end-consumers,
(ii) better statistics and methods have to be developed to chart
the growing trade volumes, (iii) policy measure still determine
large parts of the trade flows, and sudden changes in policy
can result in quickly changing trade patterns, (iv) safeguards
are required to ensure the sustainable production of biomass.
It is concluded that international bioenergy trade is growing
rapidly, far beyond what was deemed possible only a few
years ago, and may in the future in some Task 40 countries
surpass domestic biomass use, especially for specific applica-
tions (e.g. transport fuels).
Acknowledgements
This paper was written in the frame of IEA Bioenergy Task 40
on sustainable international bioenergy trade. While the
authors are all member of IEA Bioenergy Task 40, the content
of this paper does not necessarily reflect the position of the
IEA Bioenergy agreement. We would like to thank two
anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on an earlier
draught of this paper, and Johan Vinterback (PIR).
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