Danish Pyrolysis & Biochar Forum 2024

In a collaboration to strengthen the Danish pyrolysis industry, Roskilde University has joined forces with Energy Cluster Denmark, Food & Bio Cluster, and Clean – the Danish Water and Environment Cluster, to create Denmark’s most important event on pyrolysis innovation.

This initiative will bring together leading Danish companies, researchers, and public actors for an inspiring day dedicated to exploring and discussing the status and future potential of pyrolysis technology in Denmark.

Program

9.00 – Arrival and coffee
We will convene in the Grand Auditorium building 00 (see map: https://link.mazemap.com/5Xkxiofs)

9.30 – 09.50 – Opening of the Forum

Introduction and welcome by Tobias Pape Thomsen, associate professor RUC IMT.
Setting the scene with the presentation: Danish perspectives and international perceptions on the promises of Biochar. By Tobias Pape Thomsen & Kathleen Draper from the US Biochar Initiative (USBI).

10.15 – 11.45 – Presentations from Danish Pyrolysis companies (Moderator: Knud Tybirk, Food & BioCluster Denmark)

• Stiesdal Skyclean – by Jesper Noes, R&D Manager
• Frichs Pyrolysis – by Søren Bruun, CEO
• Govermental Strategy and working program for pyrolysis. Lars Aagaard, Minister of Energy & Climate
• Dall Energy – by Rasmus Glar Nielsen, Technical Lead
• Aquagreen – by Henning Schmidt-Petersen, CCO
• Organic Fuel Tech – by Jens Henrik Haahr, CEO

11.50 – 12.30 – Light Lunch
During lunch, a poster session and exhibition will take place, offering you the opportunity to explore current innovation projects and connect with new contacts.

If you would like to showcase a project, technology, or display a roll-up or new product for your company, please reach out to Tobias Pape Thomsen at: tpapet@ruc.dk

12.30 – 14.00 – Thematic Tracks

We will divide into 5 parallel tracks to dive deeper into these exciting topics. Each track will feature 3-4 presentations with the newest knowledge and findings from ongoing Danish pyrolysis and biochar projects:

Biochar in agriculture (Moderator: Food & Bio Cluster Denmark)

Biochar distribution and incorporation in soils must be integrated into common agricultural practices. We must ensure that the biochar quality fulfils the strongest standards to ensure no adverse effects on the soil organisms or crop productivity for the farmers to receive it. Several projects address various aspects of this.

Presentations:

• Effects of Biochar on Coarse sandy soils. Results from the GUDP project BioAdapt, Esben Bruun, Postdoc, University of Copenhagen
• Biochar – the new long-term field experiment. Lasse Busk Holm, Academic employee, Aarhus University Agro
• Fertilizer replacement value of P-rich biochar decreases with increasing pyrolysis temperature. Saadat Malghani, Postdoc, University of Copenhagen

Climate and environmental effects (Moderator: Kasper Havemann, Clean – the Danish Water & Environmental Cluster)

Biochar has significant potential to help achieve much needed negative emissions of CO2. However, production and use of biochar may have many other effects on climate and environment. In this session, both positive effects and potential adverse effects of producing and using biochar is discussed.

Presentations:

• Investigation of environmental issues related to the production and use of biochar. Wolfgang Norbert Stelte, Senior Reseacher, DTU.
• New insights into biochar stability. Henrik Ingerman, Professor, GEUS, Hamed Sanei, Professor, AU.
• Can biochar reduce nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture soil? Jonathan Hessner Lindhardt, Postdoc, University of Copenhagen.
• Is biochar toxic to soil-living animals? Results from a lab study. Marianne Bruus, Senior Reseacher, AU Ecoscience.

Advanced energy products from pyrolysis (Moderator: Christian Munk Jensen, Energy Cluster Denmark)

Beyond the use of biochar as a climate and agriculture solution, many leading developers are also, at the same time, producing sustainable fuels as a “by-product” of their production. This is an important driver for the business case, and we will hear much more about the possibilities in the presentations provided by:

• Perspectives of pyrolysis as a source of Biofuels. Magnus Zingler Stummann, Advanced Biofuels Project Leader, Topsoe.
• Experiences with bio-oil production and optimization from SkyClean slow pyrolyses. Jesper Ahrenfeldt, Chief Engineer, SkyClean.
• Valorizing pyrolysis product gas via fermentation pathways. Ioannis V. Skiadas, Associate Professor, DTU Chemical Engineering.

Society and Systems Analysis (Moderator: Tobias Pape Thomsen, Roskilde University)

What is the climate impact of biomass pyrolysis systems? How do we develop robust incentive structures for key stakeholders? What are the regulatory barriers for planning and deployment? Scaling biochar is not just a technical challenge but also a deeply political and systemic one. Success will require optimized system integration, collaboration and expertise from both public and private stakeholders. This track will explore some of the critical issues involved: 

Society and Systems Analysis Moderator: Tobias Pape Thomsen, RUC.

• Opportunities and challenges for accelerating deployment of Pyrolysis Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (PyCCUS) in Danmark. Mark Booker Nielsen, Regional Development Consultant for Sustainable Climate- and Energy action planning, Central Denmark Region.
• Climate impact of managing manure and biogas digestate in systems with or without pyrolysis. Insights from the STABIL project: Andreas Kamp, Postdoc, RUC.
• Climate impact of biomass pyrolysis – the influence of a dynamic approach: Insights from the SIMPLY project. Magnus Bo Karlsson, PhD, RUC.
• Business case of pyrolysis – who will own the carbon credits and how can the GHG-reduction be used? Lars Villadsgaard Toft, Senior specialist, SEGES Innovation.

The range of potential uses of biochar is constantly growing – from soil amendment to filter, to filler, to building material component, to process enhancement chemical etc. In many countries across EU, US etc., alternative uses of biochar are progressing rapidly with new value chains proposed, tested and investigated continuously. This track will provide insight into characteristic biochar effects and give examples of biochar use beyond amendment into agricultural soil:

• Biochar H2S filter for low-cost cleaning of biogas. Insights from the Power Bio project. Andreas Dyreborg Martin, PhD, RUC IMT.
• Potential uses of biochar in environmental engineering. Shihao Cui, PhD, Aarhus University.
• Treatment of low-contaminated soil with biochar produced from organic waste. Ludvig Landen, Product design, Nordic Zero.
• Biochar in the built environment’. Mona Ammitzbøll Rasmussen, Sustainability Engineer, Saint Gobain Denmark.

14.00 – 14.20 – Break

We will grap a cup of coffee and eat cake in the exhibition and poster area.

14.20 – 16.50 – Workshops

Together we will define the topics which are currently the most important within Danish pyrolysis and biochar using the Open Space Technology method. This will give you an opportunity to deep-dive into a discussion of a topic from the thematic tracks, take the first step towards a new joint development project and more. An exciting opportunity on a day where most of Denmark’s pyrolysis and biochar expertise is gathered in one spot.

16.50 – Thank you for today – Tobias Pape Thomsen

Assisted by Christian Munk Jensen (Energy Cluster Denmark), Knud Tybirk (Food & Bio Cluster) & Kasper Havemann (Clean the Danish Water – and Environmental Cluster)

17.00 – Networking

After an inspiring day, we will unwind with a glass of wine, beer, or soda, enjoying each other’s company. We look forward to a day of insightful presentations, engaging panel discussions, and valuable networking opportunities as we collaborate to shape the future of pyrolysis in Denmark.