The launch meeting of all partners in Lubia (Soria).
The Ceder-CIEMAT hosted, from 3 to 4th February, the Kick-Off-Meeting setting up the starting point for the eleven European entities involved.
The BIOMASUD PLUS project from the Horizon 2020 Program is already underway. The project is coordinated by the Spanish Biomass Association (AVEBIOM),
the kick off meeting, which marked the effective start of the European project, took place during the first week of February at the Center for Renewable Energy Development (CEDER) from CIEMAT, located in Lubia (Soria).
This first meeting brought together for the first time all participants in the project and served as first contact and presentation of each to the rest of the multidisciplinary team: Alicia Mira and Pablo Rodero by AVEBIOM (Spain); Juan Carrasco, Luis Esteban, Miguel Fernandez, Raquel Ramos and Raquel Bados by CIEMAT (Spain); Teresa Almeida and Sonia Figo by CBE (Portugal); Manolis Karampinis by CERTH (Greece); Marta Salvador and Arantza Pérez on behalf of PEFC Spain; Santiago Sanchez by Tercera fase Software (Spain), Thomas Brunner by BIOS (Austria); Laura Baù by AIEL (Italy); Nike Krajnc and Matevž Triplat representing GIS (Slovenia); Eyup Simsek from TUBITAK (Turkey); and Edo Jerkic and Hajdana Rukavina on behalf of ZEZ (Croatia).
Lubia’s meeting will establish the following steps for the different phases of the project onwards by setting up the organizational structure; and working on specific issues from BIOMASUD PLUS project; a training was also organised to cover the needs of technicians from the recently incorporated countries, both Spanish and Portuguese entities made some presentations as precursors of the ‘first’ BIOmasud project; specific functions and tasks assigned for the first six months of life of the project; as well as certain financial aspects. The work program also included a visit to the facilities of CEDER.
Improve and expand the quality certification system
The project, with a slightly less than two million euros budget and a duration of three years, is part of the call ‘Low Carbon 14’. The main objective is to improve the quality and sustainability of the BIOmasud, certification system, in operation since 2013 for Mediterranean biofuels, by including new biofuels. In addition, the review of the sustainability criteria system and spreading it to other countries concerned are other project purposes. Currently the label is present in Spain, France and Portugal and, thanks to BIOMASUD PLUS project it is going to implement also in Italy, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia and Turkey.
Eleven entities constitute this international consortium that combines biomass expertise of several research centers, the power of communication and representation of several national associations and knowledge in specific areas of several entities.