Sme Entrepreneurship In The Solid Biomass Sector: First Results Of The "Securechain" Project (Horizon2020)

SecureChain (www.securechain.eu) is one of the first HORIZON2020 projects on biomass, focused on promoting the market uptake of bioenergy in six European model regions. The project specifically aims to support SMEs mobilising currently unused amounts of solid biomass and secure supplies through existing or novel bioenergy value chains. During its first phase, SecureChain has characterized the market uptake potential of solid biomass to energy in the six model regions. Following an open call for innovation vouchers, SecureChain has awarded 21 selected SMEs with a mentoring package for the development of a pilot project. The scope of the awarded projects is wide, from optimised wood chips distribution logistics to complete agro-waste to electricity, heating and cooling ESCO supply chains, with an overall expected mobilization of over 300.000 tonnes of solid biomass per year, and the creation of over 300 direct jobs. Also, first Learning Labs - an inclusive process to gather feedback and buy-in from internal and external stakeholders - have been conducted in each model region, to set up in detail the strategy and implementation plan of the pilots. The upcoming steps of the SecureChain project will be to (i) Perform a full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the pilot projects and check their eligibility for sustainability certifications; (ii) Provide tailored financial and technical mentoring to improve business proposals, (iii) identify synergies between pilot projects to strength intra regional supply chains and inspire other model regions (iv) Organise national and European face to face meetings and road shows to showcase the business proposals to potential funders and private investors.