800+ plenary, oral and visual presentations----- 1,500+ attendees from around the world----- 51 exhibitors----- the opening highlights

13 June 2012 – The 20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition (20th EU BC&E ) opens its doors on Monday, 18 June 2012, and welcomes the global biomass community in Milan, Italy. The event takes place from 18 to 22 June 2012 (Conference 18 to 22 June 2012 – Exhibition 18 to 21 June 2012). This global biomass gathering constitutes one of the leading science-to-science, business-to-business and science-to-industry meeting point for the entire biomass sector.

The opening highlights

The 20th EU BC&E Conference opens on Monday, 18 June, 08:30 with four keynote and plenary presentations on most vital industrial biomass topics: Gasification Technology for Co-firing of Difficult Biomass, Driving Microalage based Fuels into Economical Production, Biofuels in Aviation, the Biofuels FlightPath Initiative and Biomethane: Door Opener for a Sustainable Energy Supply.

A highlight of the EU BC&E Opening, at 10:30, is the World Forum on 'Fuel, Food & the Environment: The Bioenergy Challenge', a forum for discussion on sustainability and climate change mitigation objectives of bioenergy and biofuels in particular, in view of the regulatory approaches to reduce Indirect Land Use Changes effects.

20th EU BC&E Conference

The Conference Programme of the 20th EU BC&E covers the entire scope of biomass technologies including sessions and presentations on the subjects:

Biomass Resources
R&D on Biomass Conversion Technologies for Heating, Electricity and Chemicals
R&D on Processes for Solid, Liquid and Gaseous Fuels from Biomass
Industrial Demonstration and Business Concepts
Biomass Policies, Markets and Sustainability

The Conference Programme is defined and structured under the guidance of the Technical Programme Coordination group Dr. Heinz Ossenbrink, Dr. David Baxter and Dr. Jean-Francois Dallemand, all from the European Commission, DG Joint Research Centre. The General Chairman is Dr. Ing. Bernd Krautkremer, Head of Bioenergy System Technology, Fraunhofer Institute, IWES, Kassel, Germany. Over 1,500 attendees, from 70 nations are expected to attend the 53 Sessions with 23 Plenary, 322 Oral and 474 Visual Poster Presentations. This makes the 20th EU BC&E once again one of the largest biomass conferences worldwide. Prominent speakers from international research facilities and from the biomass industry give an overview and outlook on the latest technologies and future challenges of biomass.

20th EU BC&E Exhibition

The exhibition area for the 20th EU BC&E welcomes 51 exhibitors. It provides an excellent platform for exchange between international experts in the field of research, industry and politics. The entrance to the Exhibition is free of charge.

20th EU BC&E Parallel Events

A number of Parallel Events take place in addition to the Scientific Conference Programme and the Biomass Exhibition. The EU BC&E Parallel Events have been expanded in 2012 by new elements, with strong industry relevance. These are "conference-in-conference" events that fully address current "hot topics" in the biomass sector.
These events offer a deep insight into specific topics and include the most recent scientific, technology, market and business trend.

Background EU BC&E

The European Biomass Conference and Exhibition (EU BC&E) is an annual event held at different venues throughout Europe. Since its first event in 1980, it has gained a solid reputation within the biomass community and now ranks as one of the top world leading events in the biomass sector, combining a very much respected international Scientific Conference with an Industrial Exhibition.

Over this five day event scientists, industrial community, institutions, investors and public authorities are invited to discuss the current developments in the biomass sector.

The international exhibition offers the possibility to network with leading companies in the biomass sector and to get an update on the latest innovations.

This event is supported by the European Commission, UNESCO, the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea, Regione Lombardia, the World Council for Renewable Energy, EUBIA - the European Biomass Industry Association.
The Technical Programme is coordinated by the European Commission, DG Joint Research Centre.