Abstracts and Presentations
Session 2 - 'Finance and Governance Issues'
‘The Renewable Energy Directive and the Fuel Quality Directive - implications for investment.'
Clare Wenner
Head of Renewable Transport, Renewable Energy Association
Examining the history of the Renewable Energy Directive and Fuel Quality Directive, what more needs to be done to transpose these fully into UK legislation and what the implications are for investment in the UK into conventional and advanced biofuels.
- The Renewable Energy Directive and the Fuel Quality Directive (last modified: 19 April 2012)
‘Bioenergy Investment Market Outlook'
Claire Curry
Bioenergy Analyst, Bloomberg New Energy Finance
The next generation biofuels market is about to step onto the commercial stage. But what is the outlook for advanced biofuels in terms of technology and investment? This presentation will show which sectors and funding groups are investing in next generation biofuels, what the biofuels companies are doing with the money, what the trends are in biofuel feedstock, technology, and bio product, and what BNEF's predictions are for future trends in this market.
This presentation is not available due to confidentiality, but some relevant information can be found at:
'Algal Biofuels - fact and fantasy'
Algal biofuels are increasingly touted as a miracle cure for oil-dependence, especially for military and jet fuels. Much of the enthusiasm surrounding the topic is understandably related to gaining R&D grants and business investments for scale-up, demonstration and commercial success. US and other venture-capital funded companies already report that they have produced enough litres of jet fuels from algal oils for real-life tests to take place. Algae, large and small, are claimed not to conflict with food and land for crops and people. Opposing arguments suggest that the carbon balance and the economics of algal culture may not be as good as they appear at first glance or that the water-volumes needed to cultivate enough seaweeds or microalgae are prohibitive. On the other hand, there is encouraging evidence that algae, by absorbing waste carbon and nitrogen oxides, could reduce the impact of these greenhouse gases on climate change and provide a means for making each molecule of carbon work much harder, thus sparing fossil fuels, as well as being an excellent method of bioremediating polluted and marginal waters, possibly helping reduce fears of "water wars". People are beginning to talk of algal biorefineries, to compete with oil refineries in terms of the fuels and interesting chemicals that could be produced, and point out that the leftovers from such fractionation can either themselves be processed for their energy content, or could be used as a feed component for animals, fish or even humans. Is this the dawn of the algal age? Mr Meredith Lloyd-Evans will present some of the factual information we have so far on this topic, discuss some of the fantasy that is accumulating about algae and energy, and try to help the audience decide where the real excitement may lie
- Algal Biofuels: Fact and Fantasy (last modified: 19 April 2012)