ECN and its Taiwanese research partner ITRI will jointly develop a highly efficient, simple and robust system to convert biomass waste streams into green power.
This is an important development for Taiwan, where there is a great demand for electricity to power industry in remote areas.
The collaboration, captured in a Memorandum of Understanding, is part of an ongoing cooperation between the two institutes, that was signed by the economic ministries of Taiwan and the Netherlands in 2015.
"This collaboration will help to develop a green, small-scale biomass gasification solutions for remote and local areas in Taiwan and other countries around the world, that would be difficult to connect to the national power grid," explains ECN COO Aart van der Pal. "By leveraging ECN's existing know how on biomass gasification and combining this with ITRI's research on catalysts we have an opportunity to develop a bespoke and novel solution within a relatively short space of time. We look forward to a fruitful and successful collaboration."
Dr. Robert Yie-Zu Hu, ITRI’s Vice President and General Director of Green Energy and Environment Research Laboratories, commented that the establishment of a circular economy has become a global trend and will be a new engine in the future economy. “To respond this trend, we are dedicated to developing leading-edge green technologies such as advanced biomass catalytic gasification technology. This biomass waste-to-energy technology reduces CO2 emissions and can provide a stable renewable energy and power source, helping Taiwan develop independent energy.”
Dr. Hu furthermore stated that in the future, ITRI will strengthen the partnership with ECN on biomass gasification technology. The development of biomass energy technologies and their industrialization will help industries clinch circular economy-related business opportunities.