El I BioCircular Summit held its first edition with a program in which the essential political, regulatory and strategic elements to boost the sector of the biocircularity in Spain. Organized by the Spanish Biocircularity Association (BIOCIRC) and the Spanish Technology and Innovation Platform in Biocircularity (BIOPLAT), the event, already recognised by all as 'the key meeting of the sector', has brought together more than 200 participants, including experts, business professionals, institutional representatives, the scientific-technological and academic community, as well as actors from the primary and secondary sectors, to address the present and future of all the biocircularity subsectors.
The different agents of this forum agreed on the importance of the biocircularity sector due to its real capacity to defossilize with solutions whose implementation is already possible. They all advocated the need to support biocircularity among the three renewables with the greatest potential to advance the energy and ecological transition in the country. And they underlined the possibility of doing so immediately, also favoring industrialization, competitiveness and the strategic autonomy of the State, all of which are essential in the current geopolitical and economic context.
In turn, they identified large-scale bioenergy to solve decarbonisation problems in the industrial area and the primary and secondary sectors as keys to success in integrating the entire biocircularity value chain. Biomethane was defined as essential for the implementation of renewable gases in household and industrial consumption. It was clear that a national project for Spain is to lead an industry for the production and consumption of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) for the decarbonisation of the air sector and to the detriment of external energy dependence. Finally, the “absolutely brilliant” future of bioproducts was highlighted. Special mention was made of the need to integrate all public-private agents with interests and competences in the sector in order to advance biocircular solutions given the marked transversality of the sector and its valuable implications, both environmental and socioeconomic, which transcend the ecological transition itself and are strategic for the entire State.
The updated analysis of the biomass potential in Spain was presented at the I BioCircular Summit, a work carried out by the Regulation Department at BIOCIRC. This study, which will be published soon, reveals the country's enormous potential in this resource and the need to promote its valorisation. The Association's Sustainability Department presented the prices of biomass raw materials in the national and international context and the factors that influence them, in addition to the analysis of the evolution of the market in recent years.
The event was inaugurated with the participation of Miguel Rodrigo Gonzalo, general director of the Institute for Energy Diversification and Savings (IDAE), who highlighted the relevance of the meeting: “BioCircular Summit comes at a crucial time for the sector and has generated great expectations.”
Various public administrations with powers in the sector have also supported this first forum that addresses biocircularity as a whole with interventions by representatives of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge -with the General Subdirectorate of Hydrocarbons and New Fuels, the General Subdirectorate of Forest Policy and Fight against Desertification, the General Subdirectorate of Renewable Energies, the General Subdirectorate of Waste, in addition to the General Secretariat for the Demographic Challenge-; Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food -with the General Subdirectorate of Herbaceous and Industrial Crops and Olive Oil-; Institute for Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDAE); the Government of Navarre; and the Junta de Andalucía -with the Deputy Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mines, the General Secretariat of Energy and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development-.
High-level debates on biocircularity policies, regulations and sectors
The event featured multiple round tables and specialized presentations, addressing key issues such as regulation, the role of biocircularity in the territories, its impact on the primary and secondary sectors, the development of biomethane in Spain or the opportunities of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). It also offered attendees this space for presentations, together with an exhibition area for companies and entities in the sector, as well as BioInnovation, which was the area dedicated to R&D&I through the exhibition of scientific posters and innovative biocircular initiatives.
The first round table analysed the current and future regulatory framework of biocircularity, with special emphasis on its impact on strategic sectors such as transport and industry. The potential of bioproducts and bioenergy to reduce Spain's dependence on fossil fuels was highlighted, as well as the need for specialised training to strengthen the sector in rural areas. The speakers agreed that the coming years will be exciting for the growth of this industry, with a great environmental and social impact. Subsequently, MITERD and IDAE analysed biocircularity in terms of the sustainability criteria of RED III and its transposition into Spanish law.
To give voice to the territories inherent to biocircularity, a round table was held on how biocircularity is key to sustainable industrialisation and rural development. Representatives from Navarre and Andalusia presented their successful models. Navarre has developed a “biocircular ecosystem” by taking advantage of the proximity between its agricultural and industrial fabric, while Andalusia has capitalised on its agricultural activity to become a benchmark in biocircularity. From the General Secretariat for the Demographic Challenge, Francesc Boya underlined the importance of maintaining the population in rural areas in order to close the productive cycles of the bioeconomy and gave some details of the future National Strategy to address the Demographic Challenge.
The round table on biocircularity in the primary and secondary sectors served to focus the debate on the absolutely essential role of farmers, livestock breeders and agri-food industries in the circular bioeconomy. Confederations of Forestry Organisations of Spain (COSE), Fundación Grupo Cajamar, Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias España and the Junta de Andalucía highlighted the need to improve communication with these sectors, since sometimes social rejection of the bioeconomy comes from misinformation rather than technical reasons. The challenge of bringing innovation to the market and the importance of circularity in agri-food processes to improve their profitability and sustainability were also addressed.
Spain faces the challenge of leading the production of biomethane and SAF
The debate between Naturgy, Moeve, Ence Biogas and the Andalusian Government allowed companies and public administrations to discuss the challenges of the biomethane sector. Despite Spain's great potential, the production of this renewable gas remains low compared to other European countries. Among the most urgent challenges, the simplification of administrative procedures and the need for unified criteria throughout the territory were mentioned. As solutions, it was proposed to look at the best practices of the leading countries in biomethane to replicate them in Spain.
The last roundtable focused on sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and Spain's role in this market. Experts from Iberia, Airbus, Moeve, ICAO and ICF agreed that the country has great potential to lead the production of SAF, both biological and synthetic, thanks to its natural conditions and the preparation of the sector in recent years. However, the main challenge is the high cost of SAF compared to conventional fuels. Among the solutions, the need for greater institutional support and to continue investing in technological neutrality to boost the competitiveness of the sector was highlighted.
The last spaces of the I BioCircular Summit were dedicated to presenting success stories on the integration of biocircularity in existing industries, biorefineries and bioproducts, with the participation of ENSO, Magnon Green Energy and Urbaser. And, on the other hand, on innovation in biocircularity and bioeconomy with the help of AINIA, Tecnalia and Bioliza.
The meeting concluded with the intervention of Carlos Alberto Fernandez Lopez, Head of the Bioenergy and Waste Department at IDAE, who highlighted the main lessons learned from the BioCircular Summit, such as that “in many of the sectors on which biocircularity depends, the message of what we do and what we can do has not yet penetrated; now is the time to turn this gap into a great opportunity.”
State Biocircularity Awards
The I BioCircular Summit hosted the I State Biocircularity Awards ceremony, where leaders in the transformation towards sustainable biocircular business models were recognised, promoting biocircularity as an environmental and socioeconomic pillar to advance a balanced and inclusive ecological transition.
The winners in the following categories were:
- Public-Private Collaboration Award in Biocircularity: ROBIN Project 'Deploying circular BIOecoNomies at Regional level with a territorial approach', from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development of the Andalusian Government and Technological Corporation of Andalusia.
- Award for Excellence in Biorefineries and Bioproducts: PERSEO Biotechnology.
- Territorial Impact Award in Biocircularity: Bioeconomy Hub of Catalonia, BIOHUBCAT.
- Bioenergy and Biofuels Leadership Award: Vertex Bioenergy
- Biocircular Innovation Award: CIRCULAR BIOCARBON Project 'Turning carbon of complex organic urban waste streams into value-added products', by Urbaser.
- Award for Sustainability and Social Inclusion in Biocircularity: NUTRITIVE Project 'Innovative decision-making tool for defining the most suitable manure management strategies to achieve a sustainable livestock farming system during the whole value chain', AINIA.
- Award for Lifetime Achievement and Leadership in Biocircularity: Mercedes Ballesteros, director of the Department of Energy of the CIEMAT.
The role of BIOCIRC and BIOPLAT in uniting the biocircularity sector
The success of the I BioCircular Summit has highlighted the work of BIOCIRC and BIOPLAT to integrate agents from all sectors of biocircularity in a single forum and generate a space for reflection and networking that is essential for the development of biocircularity in Spain. One of the main conclusions of the meeting was that biocircularity is positioned as one of the most promising solutions for defossilization, sustainability, industrialization and the structuring of the territory.
The I BioCircular Summit has been sponsored by companies with a notable commitment to biocircularity such as Urbaser, Ence, Moeve, Naturgy, Airbus, Enso and Iberia. Rafael Guinea, Global Director of Treatment at Urbaser, the main collaborator of the I BioCircular Summit, explained the company's work in its main objective of providing a proactive response to the challenges presented by the transition to circularity in sustainability in the sector.
