The sustainable supply chain is growing but needs support and continuity

When we talk about the economic performance of a sector, we often think of the industries of the digital or pharmaceutical sector or linked to robotic technology or the energy sector or those areas of technical innovations that will revolutionize our lives, such as artificial intelligence.

In reality, there are other sectors, less known, which ultimately fall within those of great strategic interest for nations and which will reflect very important growth.

Let's talk about the bioeconomy, which in Europe already has a turnover of around 2000 billion euros a year, employing more than 22 million of employees in sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fishing, processing of food and industrial biomass.

For industrial biomass, for example, we are talking about the production of cellulose pulp for the world of paper, chemical biocompounds, biomaterials and biofuels.

A particularly interesting chapter concerns this last category which, falling within the field of bioindustry, has become one of the primary pillars of the European bioeconomy , capable of converting biomass, residual or cultivated, into a wide range of sustainable products that can replace conventional ones.

Studies indicate the following sector growth forecasts for 2030:

- 30% of the chemical compounds will have a bio origin and will concern fine chemicals and products with high added value

- 25% of transport energy will come from biomass, with a particular increase in sustainable fuels for aviation

- 30% of electricity and heat in Europe will come from biomass

Furthermore, we can mention a booming market in the field of biopolymers, bioplastics, fibers of biological origin, biocomposites and derivatives from nano-cellulose. New chemical compounds will be generated, on a biological basis, for the cosmetics, pharmaceutical, aeronautical, green building, agricultural and automotive sectors.

There is also a thriving market for machines for processing and transforming biomass into bioenergy and bioproducts, which have a great future of development and employment.

Obviously, a young and potentially growing market will collide with the conservative spirit of the hydrocarbon market, which will try to maintain its positions trade by affecting the prices downwards.

In the bioeconomy and bioindustry supply chain the role of funding for the system, through incentives to support the competitiveness of the sector, allow industrialising and making the market sustainable at an entrepreneurial level will be completely strategic.

Biorefineries will become competitive when:

- It will be possible to create processing centers that work with multi-products and that the waste is of local origin

- A waste collection chain will be created, in order to make sufficient masses available for industrial processing on an ongoing basis

- Waste transfer prices must be competitive in order to support the supply chain, but at the same time be sustainable for farmers

- Do not create competition in valuable growing areas suitable for food production with those for biomass

- The restoration of low productivity land for the use of crops that can support the biomass industry and, at the same time, improve the CO2 balance and the increase of biodiversity

Automatic translation. We apologize for any inaccuracies. Original article in Italian.