The controversial role of energy crops in the future German energy system: The trade offs of a phase-out and allocation priorities of the remaining biomass residues

Multiple global crises are adding new elements to the discussion on securing and shaping a resilient, renewable energy system in Germany. Biomass from residues, forest wood and energy crops are major renewable energy contributors in Germany today. The role of energy crops within that system is controversially discussed for a long time and a phase-out from cultivated biomass is again in the focus. But what kind of trade-offs would be connected with such a phase-out and what would be the optimal allocation priorities of the remaining biomass potential? Through a detailed representation of biomass potentials, prices and conversion technologies in an energy system optimisation model, it could be shown in a scenario analysis that a phase-out increases the demand for energy imports by 1400 PJ per year, which is associated with on-costs of €14–25 billion annually in the long term. Finally, the results show that the decision on whether to grow energy crops in the future is directly influencing the future transformation strategy for high-temperature industrial heat applications. Solid biomass is identified as the future cost-optimal solution to fully transform this sector. However, a phase-out of energy crops changes the cost-optimal allocation priorities completely

Pilotbericht zum Monitoring der deutschen Bioökonomie

Der Pilotbericht umfasst die Ergebnisse des Forschungsprojekts SYMOBIO. Er wurde vom Center for Environmental Systems Research (CESR) der Universität Kassel und dem Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut (TI), Bundesforschungsinstitut für Ländliche Räume, Wald und Fischerei mit den Fachinstituten für Marktanalyse (TI-MA), für Internationale Waldwirtschaft und Forstökonomie (TI-WF) und für Seefischerei (TI-SF) zusammen mit Kooperationspartnern des SYMOBIO-Projekts erstellt. Gesamtkoordination: Prof. Dr. Stefan Bringezu (CESR) in Kooperation mit Prof. Dr. Martin Banse (TI)Gesamtkoordination: Prof. Dr. Stefan Bringezu (CESR) in Kooperation mit Prof. Dr. Martin Banse (TI)BMBF (Förderkennzeichen 031B0281A

Pilot report on the monitoring of the German bioeconomy

This report was prepared by the Center for Environmental Systems Research (CESR) of the University of Kassel and the Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute (TI), Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forests and Fisheries with the Specialist Institutes for Market Analysis (TI-MA) in Braunschweig, for International Forestry and Forest Economics (TI-WF) in Hamburg and for Sea Fisheries (TI-SF), together with partners of the SYMOBIO project.Overall coordination: Prof. Dr. Stefan Bringezu (CESR) in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Martin Banse (TI)German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Grant number: 031B0281A