Biomass Logistic & Trade Centres (BL&TC)

The main project's idea is either creating and/or enforcing a place with optimized logistics and trading organization where different biomass fuels (e.g. logs wood, chips, pellet) are marketed in a guaranteed quality. 

Partners at the BL&TC Pölstal (AT)	View of Pölstal BL&TC in operation (AT - Styria)

At regional level, there are often some local production and supply chains but there is no large-scale, professional and consumer oriented production, marketing and trading of wood fuels across a wider area. At Eu level there is a strong need to mobilise the large biomass potential from a mainly fragment forest owners.

The main aim of the project is therefore improving the professional organization of wood fuels supply chain at regional scale facilitating the offer/demand meeting through:

- Technical meetings and promotional brochure;
- Wood fuels handbook and SRC technical bookle;
- Training courses and study tours; 

and consequently to support and advise the organization of 18 local Biomasse Logistic&Trade Centres (BL&TC) with the aim to:
- create a spot market for wood fuels where demand and supply side can meet;
- enlarge the confidence in wood biomass supply at local level;
- give wood biomass producers an evidential place to sell their products;
- apply wood fuels quality attestation (based on European norms) for ensuring more transparent transactions;
- carry out trading contract models for wood chips based on energy content; 
-  create companies’ communicative tools to potential end-consumers and retailers.

Thw WP 5 represent the key action-purpose of the project; the aim is supporting technically either the creation of a number of BL&TC ex-novo or the enforcement and strenthening of those already existing.

On another side in some EU countries is also important the improving and boosting of the cultivation by farmers of fast-growing wood energy crops in flat areas (short rotation coppices).

Other main targets of the project are:

- to coordinate and train wood fuels (firewood and chips) producers: farmers, forest holder, forest entrepreneurs and forest owned-sawmills for improving their professional approach customers oriented;
- to improve the confidence of costumers and investors about the local availability of wood fuels of proper quality, encouraging the installation of new modern wood heating systems and CHP plants;
- to increase the share of wood fuels (chips) produced in agricultural lands stimulating the farmers
to grow energy crops (e.g. short rotation forestry);
- to support the creation and/or enforcement of regional Biomass Logistic&Trade Centres with optimised logistics and trading organisation, where different biomass fuels (firewood, chips, pellets, energy crops etc.) are marketed in a guaranteed quality;
- to stimulate local and trans-national exchange of experiences and know-how transfer from more advanced partner countries to the still less developed ones.

Latest update: 04th March 2010