The Green Innovation Forum participants visit the biorefinery and bioenergy centre and biotech lab at CENER BIO2C
A group of around thirty participants in the Green Innovation Forum visited the Biorefinery and Bioenergy Center (BIO2C) operated by CENER (National Renewable Energy Center of Spain) in Aoiz (Navarre-Spain), on November 18th.
Among the attendees was Ion Arocena, General Director of ASEBIO, the Spanish Bioindustry Association. They were welcomed by Agurtzane Martínez, General Director of Science, Technology, and Innovation of the Government of Navarre and member of CENER Board of Trustees, along with Javier Gil, Director of the Biomass Department at the national technology center.
The visitors learned about the activities and projects carried out in the Biomass area, engaged in technological development, applied research, and providing R&D services and technical assistance to sector stakeholders. The goal is to enhance the technological and techno-economic conditions in the valorization of biomass and biowaste in various applications. A key focus is applied research, particularly in the development and optimization of production processes for bioproducts, advanced solid, liquid, and gaseous biofuels, as well as evaluating concepts related to biorefineries, including techno-economic and environmental assessments
At the BIO2C, a semi-industrial pilot-scale testing facility, these processes and technologies are developed by integrating different valorization pathways, serving as an intermediate step between laboratory research and industrial scaling. The facilities include units for pretreatment, torrefaction, gasification, hydrolysis and fermentation, pyrolysis reactors, and hydrothermal liquefaction systems. These enable the valorization of various biomass sources, such as agricultural residues, lignocellulosic materials, agro-industrial and meat-processing waste, or urban organic waste, to produce advanced biofuels, bio-based polymers, biofertilizers, biostimulants, sustainable sugars, alternative proteins, antioxidants, biomethane, enzymes, biopesticides, and electrofuels, among others.
CENER also operates the Biotechnology Laboratory (CENER BiotechLab) within this center, focusing on the development of advanced biofuels from diverse carbon sources, including 2G hydrolysates and renewable gases (such as syngas and CO2). The laboratory employs synthetic biology and metabolic engineering in its work.
The 5th edition of the ASEBIO Green Innovation Forum 2024 took place on November 19th in Pamplona. This event, organized by ASEBIO and the Government of Navarre through Sodena, the Navarre Development Society, also featured CENER researchers as speakers.