GLOBAL PARTNER Editorial
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Renewable Resources in Bavaria PROFILES PORTRAITS PERSPECTIVES GLOBAL PARTNER Editorial Renewable resources in the name of the future Bavaria has been making a meaningful contri- Which key concept helps us out from the bution to energy supply in a time of diminis- energy cost trap? hing fossil resources, to sustainability and envi- ronment protection for many years. Then and now, sustainable resources offer On an international level, Bavaria is the first place to go, with the important pillars Kom- many possibilities, perspectives and beyond petenzzentrum für Nachwachsende Rohstoffe that, outstanding chances for the future. (KoNaRo, competence centre for renewable resources), C.A.R.M.E.N. e.V., TU München, Fraunhofer–IGB as well as the Straubing BioCampus, which reinforces and supports Walter Fürst science and companies for project develop- Manager ment, networking and innovation processes. You can also find this publication online at In the context of the renewable energy transi- www.media-mind.info tion, the biogas branch has known highs and lows, but ensured its continued use with the Masthead: 2017 EEG. Publisher: media mind GmbH & Co. KG The economic and ecological potential of Hans-Bunte-Str. 5 80992 München “renewable resources” are illustrated by this Telefon: +49 (0) 89 23 55 57-3 publication: Telefax: +49 (0) 89 23 55 57-47 How is the extraction of resources for energy E-mail: [email protected] www.media-mind.info and materials to be ensured in the 21st century? Managing director: Walter Fürst, Jürgen Bauernschmitt What role does the marketing and energy net- Desig + DTP: Jürgen Bauernschmitt work C.A.R.M.E.N. e.V. play in terms of sustain- able resources, renewable energy and resource Prepress: media mind GmbH & Co. KG usage? Responsible editor: Ilse Schallwegg How can the biobattery concept contribute to Printed by: Druckerei Frischmann, Amberg the energy transition? Published annually: 1 mal jährlich Which path does the professional association © 2017/2018 by media mind GmbH & Co. KG Biogas e.V. show its members in terms of active No part of this magazine may be stored, copied or reproduced contributions to renewable energy? without the written consent of the editorial office Foreword Bavaria attaches great value to the directly from the forest. This this benefits the environment and production and utilisation of means energy-producing wood also offers excellent opportunities renewable natural resources, with alone covers over 5% of primary for agriculture, forestry and the biomass from agriculture and energy consumption. entire economy in Bavaria. forestry covering around 10% of Furthermore, an integrated food, primary energy consumption. Agriculture is the second key energy and raw materials manage- This makes renewable natural source of renewable energy. ment system has gradually be- resources the number one source Renewable natural resources are come established and forms part of renewable energy in Bavaria. cultivated on around 450,000 hec- of a bio-based economy or “bio- Using biomass also reduces the tares – 14% of agricultural acrea- economy”. I see this bioeconomy as dependence on energy imports ge in Bavaria – and provide the a key point of focus for the future on a lasting basis and makes an basis for biogas plants and biofuel and a great opportunity for Bava- active contribution to climate production. A smaller proportion ria with its abundance of farmland protection. Thanks to the use of is put to material use and goes and woodland. In view of the biomass, around 9 million tonnes into the production of permanent limited resources available, we less CO2 is generated in Bavaria crops, short rotation coppice, need new, sustainable approaches each year. Miscanthus, tall wheatgrass and in order to produce the raw mate- cup plant. rials required for our modern-day The utilisation of biomass is also lives. The wide-ranging possibili- a key economic factor, generating We also have an impressive infra- ties and prospects of renewable an annual turnover of approxi- structure. Bavaria currently op- natural resources offer excellent mately 2 billion euros in Bavaria. erates just under 2,400 biogas opportunities for Bavaria‘s future. Farmers and forest owners utilise plants with a total installed rated their operating resources as effi- electrical output of 882 MW. ciently as possible. This type of This means it is home to around diversification secures their in- a third of such plants in Germany. come as independent entrepre- In addition, there are approxi- neurs and creates both jobs and mately 3,400 large-scale wood- added value in rural areas. based biomass plants in operation, most of which are used to supply Wood is the most important heat, and another 2 million or so renewable natural resource, followed small-scale wood boilers. by biogas and biofuels. Bavaria‘s total annual consumption of ener- Bavaria has already achieved a gy-producing wood amounts to very high level when it comes to Helmut Brunner 5.9 million tonnes or 13.3 million using renewable natural resourc- Bavarian State Minister solid cubic metres, most of it es. It goes without saying that for Food, Agriculture and Forestry Bioeconomy grows in Straubing, Bavaria‘s „Region of Renewable Raw Materials“ Our society faces great challenges. A central topic of the 21.century is the sustainable sourcing of raw materials for energy and materials beyond fossil fuel – even more so in times of the climate contract of Paris or the German “Energiewende”.The concept of bioeconomy as a sustainable economic system based on biological resources and in which renewable raw materials play a decisive role, offers solu- tions. That is why Straubing in Lower Bavaria brands as “Region of Renewable Raw Materials”. The Free State of Bavaria clusters its activities in the areas of research, education, utilization and market- ing around the topic of biomass in Straubing. The region is headed to become a best practice region within the fast-growing European bioeconomy. The raw materials needed are just a stone‘s throw away. What cannot be harvested off the fertile lower Bavarian “Gäuboden” area and the wood-rich “Bavarian Forest”, can be provided via Straubing‘s high-performing Danube port, mainly from the macroregion Danube area. Infrastructure for biobased scaling and demonstration of scien- biotechnology and bioeconomy economy and research tific research results. Especially the aim to educated up to 1.000 stu- Straubing‘s Danube port specializes KoNaRo-part Scientific Center dents in 2019. A regional business in biomass handling. It establishes a Straubing will undergo massive cluster “renewable raw materials” profile as Green Chemistry Port development in the coming years. which is managed by the BioCam- and offers a dedicated area for bio- 18 new chairs and four new Bache- pus Straubing GmbH, supports based industry applications called lors and four new Masters degree both scientists and businesses re- BioCampus, the BioCubator En- programs on bioprocess engineer- garding project development, net- trepreneur‘s Centre, as well as ing, biobased materials, industrial working and innovation processes, ready-to-built on industrial sites. Here, companies working along the biomass value chain can find fit- ting options for laboratories, offices and business spaces. Above this, space for test cultivation of diverse plantbased resources is readily avail- able. Distances in Straubing are short: the internationally renowned Cen- tre of Competence for Renewable Raw Materials (KoNaRo), where, amongst others, chairs of the TU Munich do research on chemical- material and energetic utilization of biomass and the Fraunhofer IGB institutional part BioCat are located in close proximity to Straubing- Sand, the Green Chemistry Port 4 Million tons of goods are handled on average per anno in the Straubing Danube port – especially on the water freight side, biomass makes up a big part BioCampus BioCampus Straubing and its area dedicated for the up- BioCampus Straubing Your qualified partner for general planning and consultation within the energy and environ- mental engineering The IGMPLAN with its part- ners is a team with lots of expe- riences and high professional The Straubing Centre of Sciences is growing: new study programmes are being competence. developed, among them bioeconomy and industrial biotechnology. (Foto: Herbert Stolz) In the special field of bioenergy strengthening Straubing‘s compe- Green Chemistry Port plants our mission is the mini- tences as a best practice region for Straubing‘s combination of sus- mal use of fossil resources and the utilization of renewable raw tainable resource availability, highly energy sources. materials. In close cooperation with specialized infrastructure and ex- the actors of the KoNaRo, the Bio- cellent scientific expertise depicts Campus also works in the field of an ideal source for innovations and PR in order to inform the general start-ups and thus a unique feature public about the region‘s activities within the European site compe- in the field. tition. International bioeconomy For expansion of the district heating supply with renewable resources we were active as general planner for the bio- mass heat and power plant BioHKW II from Fernwärme Ulm GmbH. Furthermore IGMPLAN was authorized to plan decentral- ized solutions for communities, objects and locations with local heat networks, wood-chip heat plants, pellet- and barkfired systems from 100 kW to 20 MW in the last years. IGMPLAN GmbH Planungsgesellschaft für Energie- und Umwelttechnik Ein Unternehmen in der Mr. Jens Kötting Phone +49 / (0)89/724 68 61–0 Laboratories dedicated for biotechnological and microbiological research and businesses E-Mail: [email protected] have been furnished in the BioCubator. The Biotech-Startup CASCAT GmbH has found its www.igmplan.de new home here BioCampus Straubing players such as the agrogiant ADM or the Swiss speciality chemicals company Clariant already make use of this position in the port of Straubing. ADM in its rapeseed mill processes thousands of tons of rapeseed for the bio- diesel production on a daily basis.