Bioenergy leaders from around the world gathered in Vancouver this week for a two-day conference focusing on creating viable business models for the fledgling industry.
The Canadian Bioenergy Association hosted the event, but Vancouver companies such as Nexterra Systems Corp., Lignol Energy Corp. (TSX-V:LEC) and Elemental Energy were featured and discussed the benefits of next generation renewable technologies.
One of the technologies discussed at the conference was torrefied wood pellets, better known as biocoal.
Over the last few weeks, biocoal has attracted new attention in B.C.’s bioenergy sector with news that the Wood Pellet Association of Canada and BC Bioenergy Network have launched a $170,000 study to assess the viability of the technology.
Meanwhile, a startup called Global Bio-Coal Energy Inc. has said it plans to build B.C.’s first biocoal plant next year.
The company believes the technology, which takes wood waste and converts it into high-energy coal-like pellets, could revolutionize the province’s wood pellet industry. But not everyone is convinced.
“Based on our findings we don’t think it’s as straight forward [as others think],” said Gordon Murray, executive director of the Wood Pellet Association. “In our travels around the world we’ve seen several attempts to do this and they haven’t been successful. The theory works and we’ve seen people do it in small quantities, but there’s nobody that has had commercial success on a large scale.”
Check out next week’s print edition of Business in Vancouver for more about what biocoal could mean for B.C.’s bioenergy sector.