Energy consultancy Baringa Partners has been selected by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) to lead the six month biomass logistics project in the UK.

The project will model the logistics needs of various future bioenergy scenarios, identifying the actions required to support the sector through 2050.

It will also identify and draw on lessons learned from the development of other relevant commodity sectors.

Baringa will work on the project alongside Ecofys and LLamasoft.

The ETI is a public-private partnership between global energy and engineering companies and the UK Government. It intends to speed up the development of low-carbon technologies.

According to ETI, future bioenergy scenarios can include a spectrum of future options. These scenarios can help in understanding the effect on logistics infrastructure development through the decisions taken on choice of technology and feedstock sources.

The ETI project manager Andrew Thomas said: “ETI’s whole energy system analysis shows that bioenergy can play a significant and valuable role in helping the UK meet its 2050 greenhouse gas emission reduction targets cost-effectively, especially when combined with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).

“Together they can deliver net negative emissions of around 55 million tonnes a year, and meet around 10% of UK energy demand in the 2050s, ultimately reducing the cost of meeting the UK’s 2050 greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets by more than 1% of GDP.

“In the absence of CCS, bioenergy is still a cost-effective means of decarbonisation and should play an important role in meeting the 2050 emissions target.”

Baringa Partners John Calder said: “We are delighted to be extending our long-standing relationship with the ETI, on this strategic project to help the UK meet its 2050 GHG emission target.

“Logistics is a growing areas of focus across our Energy Practice as the industry seeks to ensure the supply chain is setup to minimise cost, greenhouse gas emissions and HSE risk and ensure continuity of supply.  

“There are a number of key strategic questions to be addressed around the UK ports, road and rail network, inland and coastal waterways and storage across the supply chain to ensure it is setup to meet the future needs of the Biomass sector.”