Biomass Production

This is a synthesis of the 2025 publications led by or involving the Biomass Production research group. The findings are organised along the supply chain—from feedstock spatial planning and logistics, to conversion technologies and climate services—highlighting cross-cutting implications for policy and practice.

Synchromodality for resilient biomass logistics

Forest biomass supply chains experience high spatial and temporal variability, multiple handovers, and material quality degradation risks during storage. Adapting synchromodal planning—a holistic, ICT-enabled approach that synchronises transport, inventory, and processing decisions—can enhance flexibility, coordination, and system-wide efficiency.  See (Prinz, Mola‑Yudego, & Erber, 2025) for a conceptual framework tailored to forest biomass logistics, including priorities for digital infrastructure and real‑time data.

Climate threats and stakeholder‑driven adaptation

Across five European regions—Finland, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia, and Greece—stakeholders identified heterogeneous threat profiles and emphasised active management, engagement, and targeted policy reforms to bolster forest resilience. Perceived resilience prospects varied regionally, reflecting differences in governance capacity and disturbance regimes.  See (Khanam et al., 2025).

Bioenergy options for remote communities

Techno‑economic assessments indicate that small‑scale biomass gasification CHP can be feasible in off‑grid Canadian communities, contingent on reliable feedstock, high heat utilisation, adequate system sizing and utilisation rates, and supportive policy settings that correct diesel subsidies and value avoided emissions. (Schilling, et al., 2025) report electricity costs spanning roughly 0.25–1.20 CAD/kWh depending on local conditions. A detailed sustainability evaluation of a biomass CHP in a remote Indigenous community shows strong employment and income gains and substantial GHG avoidance, (Schilling, et al., 2025), while also revealing operational and policy misalignments that must be addressed for long‑term viability.

Hydrothermal liquefaction of coffee side‑streams

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of coffee silverskin and spent grounds yields high‑energy hydrochars (>33 MJ/kg), with oil fractions rich in alkaloids, fatty acids, and phenolics that offer potential in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. These results demonstrate both energy and biochemical valorisation pathways for food‑industry side‑streams within a circular bioeconomy.  See (Papamatthaiakis et al., 2025).

Blue carbon: mangrove biomass and carbon datasets

A new, open dataset of plot‑level inventories and landscape‑scale maps for Panama’s mangrove Important Bird Areas supports improved estimation, monitoring, and validation of biomass and carbon stocks, directly informing national climate strategies and NDCs.  See (Hoyos‑Santillán, et al., 2025).

Biomass systems and land‑use diversity

A harmonised, Europe‑wide spatial analysis of over 426,000 fields and stands across 17 countries shows that biomass production systems can either enhance or erode local land‑use diversity depending on siting and landscape context. Strategic placement can diversify homogeneous landscapes, support connectivity, and stack ecosystem services, whereas poorly integrated monocultures risk homogenisation and reduced resilience.  See (Pineda‑Zapata & Mola‑Yudego, 2025).

Land uses and dengue hotspots

In Medellín (Colombia), dengue cases concentrated in recurrent hotspots—often in low‑to‑medium socioeconomic strata and human‑made land covers—with spatial patterns differing across epidemic and non‑epidemic years. Findings motivate proactive, hotspot‑targeted prevention strategies and surveillance enhancements that account for land‑use and socioeconomic context.  See (Pérez‑Pérez et al., 2025).

Cross‑cutting implications

Collectively, these studies reinforce three priorities for a sustainable bioeconomy: (i) digital, data‑driven coordination across biomass supply chains, (ii) context‑specific deployment of conversion technologies coupled with enabling policy frameworks, and (iii) spatial planning that aligns biomass systems with ecosystem services and community outcomes. Advances in open datasets and participatory, stakeholder‑informed approaches provide the evidence base to support this integration across scales.

References

Hoyos‑Santillán, J., Miranda, A., Chavarría, J., Hormazabal, C., Mola‑Yudego, B., & González‑Mahecha, E. (2025). Plot and landscape‑level estimates of tree biomass and carbon stocks in Panama’s mangrove Important Bird Areas. Scientific Data, 12, 1016. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05354-5

Khanam, T., Peris‑Llopis, M., Selkimäki, M., Brazaitis, G., Mola‑Yudego, B., Hartmann, H., … Berninger, F. (2025). Navigating climate threats in forestry across five European regions: Stakeholder’s adaptive management and policy strategies to resilience. Journal of Environmental Management, 388, 125903. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.125903

Papamatthaiakis, N., Barbero‑López, A., Eronen, E., Jänis, J., Mola‑Yudego, B., & Haapala, A. (2025). Hydrothermal liquefaction of coffee silverskin and spent coffee grounds: Bioenergy and biochemical potential. BioEnergy Research, 18, 65. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-025-10867-3

Pineda‑Zapata, S., & Mola‑Yudego, B. (2025). European biomass production systems: Characterization and potential contribution to land use diversity. GCB Bioenergy, 17, e70057. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.70057

Pérez‑Pérez, J., Pulgarín Díaz, J. A., Rúa‑Uribe, G., Mola‑Yudego, B., Delmelle, E., Rojo, R., & Berninger, F. (2025). Effect of socioeconomic strata and land cover on dengue hotspots in Medellín, Colombia. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 112(6), 1289–1299. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.24-0665

Prinz, R., Mola‑Yudego, B., & Erber, G. (2025). Transferring synchromodal principles to forest biomass supply: A holistic approach to supply chain design. Research in Transportation Business & Management, 61, 101389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101389

Schilling, C., Mola‑Yudego, B., Marinescu, M., Gaston, C., & Röser, D. (2025). Biomass gasification as a viable alternative for small‑scaled combined heat and power technologies in remote communities in Canada. BioEnergy Research, 18, 19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-024-10812-w

Schilling, C., Xie, S. H., Mola‑Yudego, B., Zerriffi, H., Gaston, C., & Roeser, D. (2025). Small‑scale biomass combined heat and power systems in remote Indigenous communities: Economic, social and environmental sustainability challenges amid policy misalignment. Cleaner Energy Systems, 12, 100201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cles.2025.100201