Experts from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC-EC), the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), the International Centre for Applied Research and Sustainable Technology (ICARST), the Denmark-based biotech company Novozymes and the Energy Community met on 6 May 2014 in Trieste, at the CEI Headquarters, for an informal Brainstorming Interagency Meeting on Advanced Biofuels. The Universities of Udine and Trieste were also invited. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Energy Agency (IEA), who were unable to participate in the meeting, also confirmed their specific interest in being associated to this CEI initiative.
“The relevance of this meeting derives from the fact that, for the first time, and upon the initiative of the CEI, the international organisations with competence in renewable energies and a specific focus on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, have gathered to combine their actions to promote advanced biofuels in the context of the development of a bio-based economy”, stated Special Advisor to the CEI Secretary General, Giorgio Rosso Cicogna.
The projections from the CEI-Bloomberg report, commissioned in 2012 by the CEI with the support of Novozymes were recalled in order to illustrate the vast potential of advanced biofuels with specific focus on the CEI countries, and the impact it could have on job creation, economic growth, rural development, energy security, and on the reduction of CO2 emissions.
The participants agreed upon the fact that further research and innovation were crucial in order to make biofuels more competitive on the overall energy market. In this context, the representatives of the CEI Network for Science and Technology presented their relevant competences, as well as the related research activities planned in the framework of the CEI Programme to Promote Research and Innovation through Centres of Scientific Excellence and Advanced Research Groups in Member Countries (CEI-PRAISE Programme). The CEI participation in three relevant FP7 projects was also emphasised (S2BIOM, EBTP-SABS, and DANUBE-INCO.NET).
The participants also underlined the importance of institutional support, including multiple forms of public funding at national and European level, as well as short-term incentive programmes in order to help the development of advanced biofuels’ production in target countries. In particular, the representative of the Danish-based Novozymes, Anders Kristoffersen, held a presentation about the European Private-Public Partnership (PPP) for the development of a bio based economy, to which almost four billion EUR have been allocated for the next seven years.
“Advanced Biofuels are the most attractive option for any eco-friendly energy strategy, and its promotion is a natural priority of the CEI”, Rosso Cicogna said. “The collaboration between the participating organisations will enable the promotion of more production efficiency, but also a definition of the necessary regulatory framework. It is clear that the European dimension will provide an optimal context for collaboration with the aim of developing advanced biofuels in the CEI countries”, he concluded.
The next meeting related to this initiative will be held in October 2014, at the Energy Community HQs in Vienna.
“The relevance of this meeting derives from the fact that, for the first time, and upon the initiative of the CEI, the international organisations with competence in renewable energies and a specific focus on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, have gathered to combine their actions to promote advanced biofuels in the context of the development of a bio-based economy”, stated Special Advisor to the CEI Secretary General, Giorgio Rosso Cicogna.
The projections from the CEI-Bloomberg report, commissioned in 2012 by the CEI with the support of Novozymes were recalled in order to illustrate the vast potential of advanced biofuels with specific focus on the CEI countries, and the impact it could have on job creation, economic growth, rural development, energy security, and on the reduction of CO2 emissions.
The participants agreed upon the fact that further research and innovation were crucial in order to make biofuels more competitive on the overall energy market. In this context, the representatives of the CEI Network for Science and Technology presented their relevant competences, as well as the related research activities planned in the framework of the CEI Programme to Promote Research and Innovation through Centres of Scientific Excellence and Advanced Research Groups in Member Countries (CEI-PRAISE Programme). The CEI participation in three relevant FP7 projects was also emphasised (S2BIOM, EBTP-SABS, and DANUBE-INCO.NET).
The participants also underlined the importance of institutional support, including multiple forms of public funding at national and European level, as well as short-term incentive programmes in order to help the development of advanced biofuels’ production in target countries. In particular, the representative of the Danish-based Novozymes, Anders Kristoffersen, held a presentation about the European Private-Public Partnership (PPP) for the development of a bio based economy, to which almost four billion EUR have been allocated for the next seven years.
“Advanced Biofuels are the most attractive option for any eco-friendly energy strategy, and its promotion is a natural priority of the CEI”, Rosso Cicogna said. “The collaboration between the participating organisations will enable the promotion of more production efficiency, but also a definition of the necessary regulatory framework. It is clear that the European dimension will provide an optimal context for collaboration with the aim of developing advanced biofuels in the CEI countries”, he concluded.
The next meeting related to this initiative will be held in October 2014, at the Energy Community HQs in Vienna.