You have just conducted a study on the bioenergy situation in Austria. How has the bioenergy industry developed in recent years?
Bioenergy is a great success in Austria. We produce heat, electricity and biofuels in over 2,000 biomass heating or CHP plants, roughly 300 biogas plants, 9 biodiesel plants and one ethanol plant. At the same time, roughly 20 Austrian research institutions, 40 institutes at universities and universities of applied sciences as well as 100 companies are developing and distributing bioenergy technologies both on the domestic market and abroad. And yet the sector must continue to grow. Bioenergy can and must make a major contribution to meeting the goal of 36% lower greenhouse emissions in 2030 compared with 2005.  

How do you assess the raw material situation in Austria? What is the potential of biomass?
Austria is rich in timber resources, with almost half of the land area forested. The use of by-products of the forestry and lumber industries currently contributes about 130 PJ to energy production, and another 20 PJ is obtained from the utilisation of various types of waste. The potential of biomass falls well short of covering the current total final energy demand of about 1,100 PJ, but it can make a considerable contribution. In the future, an additional 50-100 PJ of energy can be sustainably provided by biomass. Sustainability must be ensured through accompanying measures, such as optimisation of supply chains, recirculation of ash, renaturation, etc.
 
Which role can bioenergy play in an integrated energy system of the future?
Biomass is a universally exploitable energy source that can be stored and transported in various forms. Electricity production from biomass should always be coupled with the provision of heat. Cooling can additionally be produced via adsorption systems. Biomass power plants can compensate for fluctuations of other renewable forms of energy (wind, solar), hereby stabilising the power grid. Biofuels can lower the greenhouse emissions of the transport sector, and electrofuels, which are produced by combining hydrogen from electrolysis with carbon, can transfer renewable energy from the electricity sector to the transportation sector. Because biomass is storable and can be converted into many different energy forms, it will play an important role in the energy system of the future.
 
You are the Austrian representative in the technology collaboration programme IEA Bioenergy of the International Energy Agency (IEA). How does the Austrian bioenergy economy benefit from this cooperation?
Austrian researchers and all companies developing and offering bioenergy technologies benefit from extensive sharing of information in IEA Bioenergy. They obtain information on international developments and trends early on, and are able to base their research on state of the art technologies, as well as to establish contacts to other countries and potential export markets. Austrian technologies for combustion and gasification of biomass are well known and in use throughout the world.