Partner region Europe

With the Green Deal, the European Union is developing a complex and holistic approach to transforming the economy and society into a liveable, modern, resource-efficient and competitive community. All sectors, from agriculture and forestry, to energy, transport, industry and trade, to nature conservation, biodiversity and natural heritage, are to make their contribution. This presupposes that the EU as a whole, as well as each individual member state, will quickly and responsibly take up its shaping roles and consistently drive forward the transformation process from a linear economy based on fossil fuels to a sustainable circular economy driven by renewable energies.

Since it was founded in 2008, the DBFZ has been researching innovative concepts and technological approaches that support and actively develop the above-mentioned transformation process, particularly in the area of material and energy use of biogenic resources. The DBFZ is working on the following bioenergy and bioeconomy-related topics (selection) within the framework of more than 20 EU project projects with almost 200 partners from Europe and other associated and partner countries:

  • Harmonisation and monitoring platform for certification schemes and labels to promote the sustainability of bio-based systems.
  • Assessment of the transition to sustainability and research on biobased products
  • Empowering regional stakeholders to realise the full potential of the European bioeconomy
  • Expanding rural bioeconomy networks through multi-actor approaches
  • Biomethane as a sustainable and renewable fuel
  • Development of advanced lignocellulosic biofuels
  • Glycerol biorefinery concept for the production of high-value products of industrial value
  • Combination of carboxylic acid production and fibre recovery as an innovative, cost-effective and sustainable pre-treatment process for heterogeneous biowaste
  • Bioenergy retrofits for industry in Europe
  • Cost-efficient biomass boiler plants with highest annual efficiency and lowest emissions

As an active member and national team leader in leading international research networks, e.g. the IEA Energy Technology Collaboration Programme, the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) or the European Technology and Innovation Platform Bioenergy (ETIP Bioenergy), DBFZ scientists contribute to the harmonisation of European standardisation and the development of assessment methods at national, European and international level.

As a member of important European research networks, such as the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA), the DBFZ exchanges scientific information with more than 40 European partner institutions, participates in project approaches and contributes to the Strategic Energy Technology Plan and the "European Green Deal" call. Participation in implementation bodies on bioenergy and the bioeconomy such as the European Technology Platform on Renewable Heating & Cooling (RHC-ETB), the European Technology and Innovation Platform Bioenergy (ETIP Bioenergy), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and CEN Algae ensures knowledge and technology transfer at national and international level.

Through the participation of DBFZ scientists in programme advisory boards such as the European Biomass Conference and Exhibition (EUBCE), the Doctoral Colloquium BIOENERGY, and with publication houses such as Springer Verlag, the DBFZ also accelerates the visibility and perception of research results and findings at international level.

Cooperation at EU level

On the European Commission's page "Funding & tender opportunities" you will find the following further information:

  • List of EU projects with DBFZ participation as coordinator or project partner.
  • Detailed information on ongoing and completed EU projects with DBFZ participation.
  • The most important cooperation partners of the DBFZ in EU projects
  • Our partner search announcements

    Activities in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe

    Eastern Europe has great biomass potential that is still not tapped due to a lack of technical know-how, insufficient economic capacities and capital, administrative hurdles or a lack of political framework conditions. Residual materials, especially from agriculture and the food processing industry, which could in principle be used as materials or energy, often end up unused in landfills. Against this backdrop, the transfer and dissemination of knowledge were the first approaches of the DBFZ's cooperation with Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. By creating the scientific infrastructure for the energetic use of organic waste and residues, the foundation is being laid for the sensible use of resources in the future and an active contribution is being made to climate protection.

    By strengthening and establishing bioenergy networks with partners from science, competence networks for the use of biogas and biomethane were built up in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia in the period 2009-2014 within the framework of several research projects. Together with partners from science, methodologies were developed, tested and demonstrated with which the potentials for sustainable biogas use in these countries could be analysed in an implementation-oriented manner. The aim of these networks was also to describe and analyse the current ecological, economic and administrative framework conditions for the provision of bioenergy. Together with several partners, a modern biogas laboratory was set up and put into operation at the A. E. Arbusov Institute for Organic and Physical Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IOPC) in Tatarstan.

    For interested stakeholders from Ukraine and Belarus, an information event and trip on the topic of bioenergy, knowledge and technology transfer, contact initiation and exchange with relevant German stakeholders was organised and carried out in 2012.

    DBFZ scientists were also active in other countries in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe:

    Based on an updatable database, an interactive web atlas was developed for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in 2019 to visualise the potential of 23 agricultural and forestry biomasses. For the strategic assessment of options for action in the context of bioenergy, this consistent information on the biogenic raw material base is a central basis. The results are available free of charge at atlasbm.bhas.gov.ba.

    In Serbia, DBFZ scientists supported the development of a sustainable energy market as part of a GIZ project. This included, for example, the introduction of standardisation along the supply chains for wood fuels and wood-based technologies, stoves and heating appliances. A key aspect was the ability of testing laboratories to verify the performance of products, e.g. boilers and stoves, according to standards and compliance with the Construction Products Regulation (EU) 305/2011 (CPR), which is mandatory for CE marking and thus for product placement of Serbian stoves and heaters on the European market.

    Literature (Eastern and South-Eastern Europe):

    • Brosowski, André et al. (2019): How to measure the impact of biogenic residues, wastes and by-products: Development of a national resource monitoring based on the example of Germany. In: Biomass and bioenergy 127. URL: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0961953419302247
    • Angelova, Elena et al. (2012): Sustainable European Biomethane Strategy. In: Building Bridges to Eastern Europe: Biomass Potentials and Utilisation Options in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Leipzig: DBFZ. S. 38-55. (= Series of publications of the BMU funding programme "Energetic Biomass Utilisation"). URL: www.energetische-biomassenutzung.de/publikationen/schriftenreihe/06-brueckenschlag-nach-osteuropa
    • Thrän, Daniela/Pfeiffer, Diana (eds.) (2012): Building Bridges to Eastern Europe: Biomass Potentials and Utilisation Options in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Leipzig: DBFZ. (= Series of publications of the BMU funding programme "Energetic Biomass Use"). URL: www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/item/JR7WRVE2LFVUA7DZKO5TOMCX4MUJBCS5
    • Pfeiffer, Diana; Angelova, Elena; Fendt, Sebastian; Heil, Volker; Specht, Michael; Steiert, Stefan; Stinner, Walter (2012): Concepts and pilot projects for innovative biomethane production processes. Tagungsband / 6th Rostock Bioenergy Forum: on 14 and 15 June 2012 at the University of Rostock, Chair of Waste and Material Flow Management, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Rostock. [Ed. Michael Nelles], URL: portal.dnb.de/opac.htm
    • Angelova, Elena et al. (2012): Potential in Eastern Europe: Case study for the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belarus. In: Focus on Biomethane: Biomass for Energy. ISSN No. 2192-1156, 1/2012: 46-47. (= Focus on Biomass for Energy). URL: www.openagrar.de/receive/dimport_mods_00002913
    • Angelova, Elena/Scholwin, Frank (2012): Potentials and benefits of biomethane production in South Eastern Europe. In: Südosteuropa-Mitteilungen 52 (2012), pp. 70-78. URL: www.openagrar.de/receive/dimport_mods_00000176
    • Thrän, Daniela et al. (eds.) (2012): Focus on Biomethane: Biomass for Energy. Leipzig: DBFZ. (= Focus booklet Energetische Biomassenutzung). URL: www.openagrar.de/receive/dimport_mods_00002913
    • Angelova, Elena (2012): A Sustainable European Strategy for Biomethane Trade between the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belarus and the European Union. Proceedings of the 20th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, ISBN 978-88-89407-54-7, June 2012, 2445-2449.