EcoBioMass – harvesting forest energy biomass in the 21st century

Project Information

EcoBioMass

Grant agreement ID: 768291

DOI

10.3030/768291

Project closed

EC signature date 20 April 2017

Start date 1 August 2017

End date 31 July 2019

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy

Total cost

€ 1 856 500,00

EU contribution

€ 1 299 550,00

Coordinated by

CINTOC AB
Sweden

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - EcoBioMass (EcoBioMass – harvesting forest energy biomass in the 21st century)

Reporting period: 2018-08-01 to 2019-07-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The objectives of the EcoBioMass project are to optimize, demonstrate and commercialize the EcoBioMass, the first automated system for harvesting and processing stands of small diameter trees. The concept builds on Cintoc's patented technology, where an operator harvests trees, that are automatically processed and packaged for onward transport and use.

Small diameter trees constitute approximately one quarter of all European forest growth. The annual potential harvest equals around 1500 TWh of renewable biomass energy, with a market value of EUR 30 billion. Due to technical limitations of the present day harvesting technology, only a minor fraction of the energy potential of European forests is used.

Recognizing a significant business and environmental opportunity, Cintoc has developed the EcoBioMass concept, that makes energy wood harvesting less complex and more profitable for the entire forest value chain: The system offers:

- Increased commercial value and profits per forest hectare,
- Reduced cost of harvesting energy wood,
- Reduced transport costs of harvested materials,
- Better access to biomass raw material and reduced handling costs for end users.

The environmental and socio-economic impact of EcoBioMass is considerable, as each EcoBioMass unit is able to harvest the equivalent of 60 Gigawatt hours of forest biomass annually, whilst the new technology will create business opportunities and employment in rural areas throughout the EU and beyond.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Work Package 1
The reporting period has seen the continuation of the routines established during the first reporting period; administrative and financial tasks, engagement of project personnel and establishment of time keeping according to EC regulations, on-going evaluation and monitoring of project progress, implementation of innovation management routines and routines for internal and external communication, primarily through regular meetings between the project management and the technical staff. The task has been completed according to plan.

Work Package 2
The reporting period has seen the completion of the requirement specification.

Work Package 3
The reporting period has seen the completion of the work package and the technical module optimization of the demonstrator. The work package encountered unforeseen delays arising from optimizing the hydraulic system, that required additional resources and time.

Work Package 4
The reporting period has seen the completion of the work package and the demonstration of the EcoBioMass concept in forest operations.

Work Package 5
The reporting period has seen the completion of the work package, and the dissemination efforts of the EcoBioMass project. The WP has seen the targeted dissemination of project information to a series of larger actors in the forest and energy sectors in Sweden, Finland and Russia.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The optimization of the EcoBioMass concept and the subsequent commercialization of the technology surpasses the state-of-the-art by the introduction of semiautomatic harvesting and handling of small diameter trees. Within forestry, this is a first.

From a commercial and societal perspective, this will introduce the first viable and profitable non-manual means to harvest, process and use a natural resource – small diameter trees – that today represent an underdeveloped and underutilized renewable energy resource. The introduction of the technology will enable the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable, CO2-neutral, green energy for heating and power generation.
At the time of writing, the project is completing the optimization and validation of the individual modules of the concept. The actual use and demonstration of the new concept will follow during the next reporting period, whereas the market uptake and societal impact will take place following the end of the H2020-project.

Cintoc concept