Leopoldina News 03

Leopoldina news Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Halle (Saale), 13 September 2012 03|2012 Dear members and friends of the Leopoldina, Leopoldina issues statement One of the biggest challenges facing society today is the energy supply of tomorrow. As on the opportunities and limits such, the German government’s work on making the transition to of bioenergy renewable, sustainable energy sources affects cluded that bioenergy will not be able to us all. If, by 2050, make a quantitatively significant con- the majority of our tribution to Germany’s transition to re- energy is to come from newable energy sources. The statement renewable sources and points out that bioenergy requires more our carbon emissions surface area and is associated with high- are to fall by 80 percent, then we must see er greenhouse gas emissions than other the transition as a truly collaborative project renewable sources such as photovoltaic, that each and every one of us must support. solar thermal energy and wind energy. In Research is a crucial part of this project. addition, energy crops potentially com- The German National Academy of Sciences pete with food crops, the statement says. Leopoldina recently brought the issue of However, it also points out the areas energy into the public eye again when it where biogas, bioethanol and biodiesel published its statement „Bioenergy – Chances can be a climate-friendly alternative. For and Limits“. The document provides a nuanced example, the scientists recommend com- exploration of the potential of using bioenergy bining food production and bioenergy as an alternative energy source. This issue of production to make more efficient use of Leopoldina news reports on the findings of the biogenic waste. At the same time, they are paper and the response it has received. also careful to note that the greenhouse The Leopoldina will continue to focus on the gas emissions produced by agriculture transformation of Germany’s energy system. The German federal government is need to be taken into consideration and For example, the topic will feature at this planning to make wind, solar and bio- integrated into the guidelines for sustai- year’s annual assembly (22-24 September, mass the country’s main sources of ener- nable bioenergy. Berlin), which is entitled “Rolle der Wissen- gy in the future. To generate bioenergy, The Leopoldina has continued to schaft im Globalen Wandel“ (The Role of plant matter needs to be converted into engage in the social debate on bioener- Science in Global Change). I would like to take a form that can be used for electricity, gy use. On 12 September, the authors of this opportunity to invite you to join us at the heat and fuel. A statement published the statement discussed the Leopoldina’s conference. by the Leopoldina in July 2012 entitled recommendations at a public event in “Bioenergy - Chances and Limits” led to Berlin attended by representatives of the Kind regards, a lively public debate on bioenergy use. government, parliament, trade associa- More than 20 expert scientists contri- tions and the scientific community. (ca) buted to the statement, which examined the question of whether bioenergy can You can find an article by Prof. Bern- really be a climate-friendly alternative to hard Schink ML, who helped coordinate fossil fuels. After conducting research for the statement, on page 2 Conference Reports 3 one and a half years, the scientists con- Publishing Details 5 Events 7 People 9 2 03|2012 // Leopoldina / Newsletter The limits of bioenergy By Prof. Bernhard Schink ML, coordinator of the bioenergy statement The picture on the box is not always the or starch to produce bioethanol on an in- same as what you get inside. Consumers dustrial scale. This means bioenergy pro- The Statement encounter this fact all the time. The duction is in direct competition with food German National Academy of Sciences production. The same is true for produ- More than 20 expert scientists were Leopoldina conducted a study to deter- cing biodiesel from rapeseed, sunflower involved in the Leopoldina’s bioener- mine what role bioenergy ought to play seeds and oil palms. The technology for gy working group, which produced the in Germany’s future energy mix. It may fermenting other parts of plants like the statement. The following members of initially seem like a good idea to culti- stalks and leaves into ethanol does not the Leopoldina were responsible for vate biomass, especially corn and sugar exist (yet). This waste and the waste from coordinating the group’s work: Prof. beets, then ferment the sugar and use livestock farming is much better suited Rudolf K. Thauer ML, Max Planck In- the resulting alcohol as fuel. The soluti- for fermenting into biogas, a mix of me- stitute for Terrestrial Microbiology in on appears carbon-neutral, producing thane and carbon dioxide. Biogas has the Marburg; Prof. Bernhard Schink ML, an equal amount or less carbon dioxide additional advantage over ethanol of not Professor of Limnology and Microbial than the plants absorbed during their having to be distilled and separated. This Ecology at the University of Konstanz; lifetime. In reality, though, the situation step in ethanol production devours lots Prof. Bärbel Friedrich ML, Chair of the is much more complex. Fertiliser and lots of energy. Decentralised use of bioenergy Department of Biology at Humboldt- of water is needed to grow healthy plants. incorporating either biogas reactors by Universität Berlin and Vice President And providing those two things requires themselves or in combined power plants of the Leopoldina. The statement energy. In addition, plants cultivated for could be economically viable on a small was published in English. A bilingual bioenergy and plants cultivated for food scale. Biogas production especially ought German and English summary is also compete for land, fertiliser (especially to concentrate primarily on utilising was- available, as is a paper containing the phosphate) and water, both locally and te. recommendations in German. globally. Finally, fertilised soil releases As regards biomass production in ge- nitrogen oxide and methane, very potent neral, one should know that plants make You can download all three docu- greenhouse gases that can put just as very inefficient use of the solar energy ments from the Leopoldina website: great a burden on the atmosphere as the that is available to them. Only about one www.leopoldina.org/en/publica- carbon dioxide that was absorbed by the percent of the solar energy that they re- tions/statements-and-recommenda- plants would have done. Producing ener- ceive goes towards the creation of bio- tions/ gy crops therefore involves a number of mass. That energy can be harvested from problems that considerably reduce their fast-growing wood such as poplar and potential benefits. put to immediate use as an energy sour- Over the last one and a half years, ce through combustion. Converting bioenergy. It is a contribution that should the German National Academy of Scien- mass into ethanol leaves just one-fifth of be used by converting agricultural and ces Leopoldina has undertaken a study the original one percent energy utilisati- municipal waste into biogas primari- that sheds light on the different aspects on and only in a best-case scenario. This ly through fermentation or into syngas of producing sources of biomass energy means bioethanol only yields 0.2 percent through pyrolysis. Expanding bioethanol with regard to the climate balance, eco- of the solar energy it was originally expo- production in Germany can only make a logy and process economics. The findings sed to. Efficiency of this sort is negligibly very small contribution to the country’s are sobering. In Germany, bioenergy low, for example when compared with energy supply, and it entails great eco- is only capable of making a very mo- photovoltaics, which already today can logical risks in terms of greenhouse gas dest contribution – just a few percent achieve more than ten percent conversi- emissions and land and soil degradation. – towards meeting total energy needs. on efficiency depending on the technolo- The Academy’s statement makes a point Today’s higher percentages are only pos- gy used. In light of these facts it is also of highlighting these aspects in the hope sible as a result of large quantities of im- unrealistic to pursue objectives like im- that they will become part of future talks ported biomass, which are mainly used proving the efficiency of photosynthesis on bioenergy use in Germany and central as animal feed and which make up about through process optimisation. Europe. one-third of our total biomass conver- The Leopoldina’s statement shows sion. Against this backdrop, it does not that bioenergy can only play a very mo- This article appeared in Financial seem to make much sense to expand pro- dest role in meeting the energy needs of Times Germany on 6 August 2012 in a duction of bioethanol and biogas in Ger- a country like Germany, which is densely slightly modified form. many. Current technology requires sugar populated and requires a large amount of 03|2012 // Leopoldina / Newsletter 3 Conference Reports New findings from the life sciences The Leopoldina’s Class II discussed a wide range of research topics at its symposium Class II – Life Sciences held its annual symposium on 24 May 2012. During the event, which was entitled New Advances in the Life Sciences, members of sections within Class II presented their latest research findings. The event was chaired by the coordinator of the symposium, Prof. Claus Bartram ML, senator of the Section Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine, and Prof. Pe- ter Propping ML, Secretary of Class II. The introductory speech was given by Prof. Irene Schulz-Hofer ML, Spokes- person of Class II.

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