• The importance of green credentials
• Understanding and quantifying life cycle impact
• Ensuring a consistent and rigorous methodology
• Communicating results

• 10% by 2010: Is this achievable? Gaining an update on the EU targets and expectations for Member States for advanced biofuel production and scale-up
• Hear the latest review of the Renewable Energy Directive to determine what the implications will be for the commercialisation of advanced biofuels in Europe
• Clarifying recent developments around the SET-plan: how is the EU currently prioritising renewable energy alternatives across the board? What is their level of commitment to advanced biofuels and what initiatives will be put in place to make this possible?
• Blending mandates focus: will Europe be moving towards higher and more standardised blending targets? Understand the government’s latest commitments to increase ethanol and biodiesel levels in petrol to boost motivation for plant creation

• Examine geographical variations in Member State interpretations of European-level targets and blending mandates: How have Member States adapted these guidelines locally and to what end? Compare and contrast national perspectives to gain a European-wide view on local interpretations
• Understand how Member States are translating EU guidelines into solid tools and clear metrics to report and monitor targets: Promoting the “double counting” / “double credit” mechanism
• Moving towards a more unified regulatory landscape: ensuring Member States are on the same page in terms of targets and incentives for development to promote cross-border development and minimise potential supply/demand mismatches
• Clarifying GHG standards and expectations per Member State to ensure compliance across the board
• Hear variations in blending mandates and Member State strategies to achieve blending optimisation levels and incentivise their local markets and demand for advanced biofuels

• Examining biofuels as the most realistic solution to take CO2 out of the transport fuels sector over the next twenty years
• Supporting biofuels growth with the development of advanced biofuels using new feedstocks and new conversion processes
• How technology partners can fill competence gaps and provide expertise in advanced conversion technologies and feedstock development
• Progressing new technologies from lab-based process to commercial scale-up: accelerating research, development and demonstration

1. Operation Focus
• Detailing the key technical problems that were faced when setting up and running a cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant and how they were overcome
• Giving an overview of the capital costs and operating costs involved in setting up the plant to determine ways in which they could be reduced for future projects
• Providing a forecast of the full mass and energy balance of the plant to determine how efficiently the technology could perform at commercial scale
• Getting an estimate of the conversion rate that the plant was able to achieve
  
  
2. Technology Focus: Biochemical Technology And Enzyme Hydrolysis
• What are the latest developments in enzyme and biochemical technology and how can this be translated into cost-reduction opportunities for advanced biofuel production
• Explaining how the major enzyme suppliers will be able to achieve the volume necessary for commercial scale up and exploring advancement in improving enzyme efficiency
• Facilitating the bio-chemical pathway when transforming lingno-cellulosic materials into ethanol: ensuring the effective preparation of raw material using controlled pressure
• Exploring advances in obtaining ethanol from hemicellulose to enhance overall profitability

1. Operation Focus
   
   
2. Technology focus: Thermochemical Conversion And Gasification
• Exploring the latest advances in thermochemical conversion and BTL (Biomass to Liquids): Have competitive and sustainable integrated processes been developed?
• Will thermochemical conversion processes be adapted to smaller-scale operations?
• Exploring the potential for future biomass gasification units to be integrated into existing refineries, and the resulting reduced capital and operating costs

1. Operation Focus
• Assessing the readiness of algae biofuel technology for commercialisation based on practical experience with a demonstration plant
• Explaining how the feedstock base was secured to support the demonstration plant and what steps are being taken to develop a supply chain of the quantities necessary for commercial scale up
• Identifying the key technical problems that were faced in running the plant at demonstration scale that need to be overcome before scaling up to commercial scale
  
  
2. Technology Focus: Hydrogenation And Cracking
• Hear the latest research into converting bio-oils and fats directly into motor fuel without gasification
• Understanding the potential for using algal biomass as a feedstock for cracking methods

• Calculating the cost, profitability, yield, availability and capacities of each feedstock
• Uncovering the genomics and bio engineering on different feedstocks
• Outlining the critical steps to achieve commercial viability of each
• Identifying how to access to feedstock globally: Understanding what data management exists to identify these suppliers

Feedstocks to be examined include:

1. Agro-Based Feedstocks (switchgrass, corn stover)
2. Wood-Based Feedstocks (wood chips)
3. Miscanthus
4. Municipal waste
5. Camelina
6. Jatropha
7.  Sweet Sorghum
8. Algae