CHOREN and GERMAN PELLETS to join forces in commercial cultivation of woody crops

Plans for initial cultivation of about 1,000 ha of woody crops as feedstock for pelleting plant in Wismar


Freiberg/Wismar - German Pellets, Europe\'s largest producer of wood pellets, and CHOREN, the market leader in synthetic biofuels, have decided to join forces in the production and use of woody crops. Their joint objective is to meet the expected increase in demand for woody biomass with the early development of an important additional source of feedstock. This will provide agriculture with new markets and the opportunity to participate in the value chains for the production of high-quality, climate-friendly energy sources.
In this collaboration, CHOREN Biomass GmbH will be responsible for the production of woody crops and logistics. German Pellets makes a long-term commitment to purchase up to 10,000 t of dry wood matter annually at fixed terms, thus providing the necessary reliable basis for planning.

A first step will involve the short-rotation coppicing of up to 1,000 ha of energy wood together with partners in agriculture. To keep transportation costs low, cultivation sites in a radius of approx. fifty kilometres around the German Pellets plant will be given preference.
CHOREN Biomass GmbH currently cultivates 140 ha of short-rotation coppice. In 2009 alone, approx. 100 ha were newly planted in the German states of Saxony, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as part of the EU-funded OPTFUEL project. Activities to date have been aimed at creating demonstration plots in different regions, to gain experience in the supply of feedstock to industrial-scale plants for the production of synthetic biofuels (BTL, biomass to liquids). \"Our collaboration with German Pellets now opens up the opportunity to start the commercial production of woody crops immediately and present this production process to agriculture as an attractive supplement to traditional crops\", says Michael Weitz, Project Manager at CHOREN Biomass GmbH.

The two companies agree that woody crops are set to play a key role in achieving the European Union\'s target for renewable energies to cover 20 % of final energy consumption by 2020.
\"Even today, woody biomass has the largest share among the renewable energy sources across Europe. Experts agree that demand, especially for wood pellets, will increase significantly. The German Energy Pellets Association (Deutscher Energie-Pellet-Verband) expects over 600,000 installed pellet heating systems in Germany by 2015\", says Christian Kuntze, Head of Wood Purchasing at German Pellets. “Germany has the biggest stock of roundwood in Europe. However, to be able to satisfy the expected rising demand in the next decades, it’s essential to develop new feedstock resources. Using woody crops is therefore absolutely necessary and makes good sense.\"
Recently German Pellets processed successfully 100 t of willow tree woodchips from an existing CHOREN test plot, thus proving the suitability of woody crops for pelleting.


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Background


Woody crops

Woody crops is the term used to refer to fast-growing energy wood grown on agricultural land, such as poplar, willow and robinia. Land on which energy wood is grown is also referred to as short-rotation coppices.
The first crop can be harvested after just three years, using a specially equipped maize chopper. After the harvest, shoots grow again from the rootstock, so wood can be harvested again after another three years without further investment. These short rotation cycles can be maintained over a period of at least 20 years without a significant loss in yield. In the cultivation of fast-growing trees, the use of fertilizer and pesticides is generally very low, which makes for an excellent eco-balance with this type of feedstock production.
In addition, fast-growing tree species will also flourish on land that is less suitable for traditional crops, e.g. because of waterlogging or other restrictions. This land still maintains the status of agricultural land.


CHOREN:

CHOREN is an internationally leading supplier of technologies for the production of synthesis gas from solid biomass. Using the Carbo-V® process, a high-purity, high-energy synthesis gas is produced from woody biomass via gasification. This can be used to produce synthetic biofuel (BTL, biomass to liquids) or other traditional synthesis gas products (e.g. methanol, ammonia), as well as heat and electricity.
A key precondition for CHOREN is the sustainable production of the feedstock used. CHOREN Biomass is PEFC-certified (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes), which guarantees compliance with environmental and social standards.
Currently the first commercial plant for BTL production worldwide is starting up in Freiberg. The production of synthesis gas is due to start in autumn of this year. Fuel production with an annual capacity of 15,000 t of BTL is scheduled to begin in early 2010.
Provided the necessary industrial policy legislation is put in place, the CHOREN Group is planning to build a large industrial-scale BTL production plant in Schwedt in the state of Brandenburg. The feedstock for this plant, around 1m t of dry wood matter annually, will be sourced from recycled and forest wood, and increasingly from woody crops.


German Pellets:

GERMAN PELLETS GmbH is Europe\'s largest manufacturer of wood pellets. The company was founded in 2005, in the Mecklenburg city of Wismar on the Baltic coast. Today GERMAN PELLETS operates four plants in the north, south, east and southwest of Germany, with a total annual output capacity of about 800,000 t pellets. The pellets are made of wood originating from sustainably managed forests in Germany. As a CO2-neutral, renewable fuel, wood pellets have by now become established on the market.


Freiberg/Wismar, 2nd September 2009


Publication and Reprint free of charge; please send a voucher copy to
CHOREN Industries GmbH and GERMAN PELLETS GmbH.


Attention editorial offices: For further questions please contact:

Michael Weitz
CHOREN Biomass GmbH
Project Manager
Max-Brauer-Allee 46
22765 Hamburg
Germany
Tel. +49 40 398156-33
Mobile +49 172 3497740
michael.weitz@choren.com
http://www.choren.com


Dr. Ines Bilas
CHOREN Industries GmbH
Public Relations
Frauensteiner Straße 59
09599 Freiberg
Germany
Tel. +49 3731 2662-226
Mobile +49 172 3453743
ines.bilas@choren.com
http://www.choren.com


Christian Kuntze
GERMAN PELLETS GmbH
Head of Purchasing
Alter Holzhafen 17b
23966 Wismar
Germany
Tel.: +49 3841 758 2632
christian.kuntze@german-pellets.de
http://www.german-pellets.de


Dr. Michael Walewski
GERMAN PELLETS GmbH
Marketing, Communications
Alter Holzhafen 17b
23966 Wismar
Germany
Tel.: +49 3841 758 2664
michael.walewski@german-pellets.de
http://www.german-pellets.de

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