Canada s BioFuelNet and the Low Cost Sustainable Feedstock Task Force

Transcription

1 Canada s BioFuelNet and the Low Cost Sustainable Feedstock Task Force J. Kevin Vessey Building Biomass Value Chains Workshop 24 January 2017 Thunder Bay, Ontario

2 BioFuelNet: About the network BioFuelNet Canada is a Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE) that brings together the Canadian biofuels research community. Operates under a $25 million grant over 5 years (2012 to 2017) through the NCE program. 10 project containing 59 work packages Facilitates collaboration Supports commercialization Government interaction Represents Canada Trains students and postdocs 2

3 BioFuelNet: Our vision & mission Our vision is a Canada with a thriving advanced biofuels industry that is socially, economically and environmentally sustainable. Our mission is to support the growth of Canada s advanced biofuels industry through coordinated research, innovation, effective education, smart policy and strategic partnerships.

4 Advanced biofuels are produced from non-food biomass Agro-forestry waste Energy crops Algae Municipal waste 4

5 Advanced biofuels Renewable biofuels can provide: Sustainable source of energy Reduced GHG emissions Reduced reliance on food crops for biofuel production

6 Who is involved? McGill University (Host) 27 universities ~130 researchers ~57 industry partners Over 140 partners Almost 400 Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) Numerous national & international contacts 6

7 Examples of BFN s Community Academia Government Industry Other Examples: ~1/3 in each case Investment 7

8 Task Forces Integrate Themes FEEDSTOCK CONVERSION UTILIZATION SEES 1. Purpose-grown feedstock 2. Residues & waste 3. Bioconversion 4. Pyrolysis 5. Gasification 6. Emerging conversion technologies 7. Combustion & engine operations 8. Life cycle analysis & microeconomics 9. Domestic & international policy 10. Supply-chain logistics 8

9 Industry partners have indicated that sourcing and maintaining low-cost, reliable, and sustainable feedstock supplies are major risk factors to initiating or maintaining advanced biofuel production facilities. The LCSF Task Force involves members from academia, industry and government to address these questions with a goal of de-risking the issues around sourcing and maintaining low-cost, reliable, and sustainable feedstock supplies for biorefinery operators.

10 The knowledge translation (KT) initiative of the LCSF Task Force is entitled: Animating Biomass Feedstock Supply Chains in Canada. This initiative was tackled with a case-study approach.

11 The Nova Scotia Case Study The Government of Nova Scotia wants to attract a biorefinery to the Province. The Province has tasked Innovacorp, the Province s early stage venture capital corporation lead this initiative. In 2015, Innovacorp brought together academics, departments in the Nova Scotia Government, and private sector representatives to address the initiative.

12 The Nova Scotia Case Study Working groups were established to look into feedstocks supplied from forestry and agriculture residues, municipal solid waste and purpose-grown biomass crops. The goal of the biomass crops group is to better understand the yield potential of these biomass crops across Nova Scotia to de-risk the supply chain.

13 The Nova Scotia Case Study We are focussing on four crops: hybrid poplar, willow, switch grass, and Miscanthus on lowquality land.

14 2015

15 Inactive (1998): 25,000 ha Inactive (2010): 50,000 ha (est.)

16 Development a GIS web tool for estimating biomass potential.

17 Development a GIS web tool for estimating biomass potential. When complete, we plan to have a interactive web interface where biomass yield data can be generated based upon: Target biomass crop Location Soil quality characteristics Accumulated temperature Preciptiation

18 Biomass supply chains are complex! Land Accumulation & Management Crop Establishment & Production Harvesting, Aggregation & Storage Logistics & Inventory Management Sizing & Material Handling Storage Scoping Modeling Estimating Targeting Incentives Timing Educating Marketing Community Relations Variety Trials Crop Mix Soil Mapping Variety Selection Seed/Plant Procurement Recruiting Legal Tax Contracts Mapping Negotiate Database Management Landowner Relations Tracking Evaluations & Assessments Renewals Renegotiation Communication Insurance Customer Work Force Requirements Training Timing Planning Equipment Field Prep Labor Equipmenforce Work- Training Labor Nutrient Training Mgmt Plant Density Field Access Scouting Buffers Crop Protection Seed Pest & TreatmentDisease Mgmt Planting Timing Water Mgmt Reseeding Input Procurement Scheduling Labor Harvest System Evaluation Equipment Selection Labor Input Procurement Workforce Training SOPs Quality Mgmt Economics Training Safety Maint. & Flex Risks Equipment Maintenance Tracking Storage Site Prep In-field Logistics Labor Equipment Moisture Mgmt Staging Inventory Entry Security Insurance Inventory ERP Integration Protection Security Insurance Risk Mgmt SOPs Monitoring Shrinkage Quality Control Stack/Pile Maintenance Customer Relations Planning Equipment Labor Dispatch ERP Integration Tracking Safety Weather Forecasting Timing Safety Energy Usage Uptime Particle Size Moisture Evaluations & Assessments SOPs Labor Equipment Throughput Quality Control Planning Dispatch ERP Entry Quality Control Tracking Moisture Particle Size Dist Bulk Density Staging Cert of Analysis Weather Forecasting Scheduling SOPs Sampling Traceability ERP Integration Quality Control Packaging Load-Out Labor Equipment Labor Equipment System Entry

19 Thank You!