Andalusia leads the European Project BIOMASSTEP, co-funded by the European Commission through the cross-border cooperation programme Interreg-Poctep, to develop a new methodology that enables bioenergy companies to evaluate the quality of biomass in situ for energy use between the Algarve and Andalusia.
To guarantee the use of quality biomass is a fundamental aspect to consolidate the sector, since it is an essential to obtain good performance in the equipment used, as well as to ensure good air quality, aspects in which the Andalusian Autonomous Community has been working for years.
Together with the Andalusian Energy Agency, this project is integrated by the University of Córdoba (coordinators), Technological Corporation of Andalusia (CTA); Prodetur (Seville Provincial Authority); the Association of Renewable Energy Companies (APPA Renovables), AREANATejo – Agência Regional de Energia e Ambiente do Alentejo; AREAL – Regional Agência de Energia e Ambiente do Algarve; LNEG – National Laboratório de Energia e Geologia de Portugal and the University of Évora.
The BIOMASSTEP presentation event took place in the Seville Provincial Authority. The event has been carried out by María del Mar Delgado Serrano, delegate of the Rector for International Projection of the University of Córdoba; Antonio Conde Sánchez, vice president at Prodetur, and Jorge Jiménez Luna, managing director at Andalusian Energy Agency.
Transparency and safety
According to Jiménez Luna, the participation of our region in this project was fundamental, since “it is a great innovation that a biomass trading company or distributor, and even a large consumer, can have a equipment that determines, almost immediately, the quality of the biomass that sells or buys, which, added to the indispensable certification processes, will provide a great transparency and safety to the sector”.
Antonio Conde emphasized “the great technological and business opportunity” that BIOMASSTEP involves, since “it intends to be an instrument to improve the productive framework, to boost job creation and a better use of indigenous natural resources”.
Precisely, Paloma Pérez from the Association of Renewable Energy Companies (APPA) has talked about the generation of wealth from biomass and about the socioeconomic balance of biomass in Spain.
The CTA Business Development consultant, María García, explained how the transfer of project results will be made to companies in the sector.
