The UK government’s recently published Biomass Strategy (2023) highlighted the key role of bioenergy for Net Zero, particularly bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).

Use of bioenergy technologies requires land to grow biomass feedstocks which may conflict with other potential land uses.

This is where agroforestry comes in. Agroforestry is the concept of planting trees on farmland, alongside crops or animals. These trees could be utilized for other purposes, such as for bioenergy, whilst the growth of trees themselves may improve crop and animal yields. Agroforestry only received a single mention in the Biomass Strategy (2023), thus is underexplored.

Energy Systems Catapult was commissioned by Ian Brown, recipient of a Churchill Fellowship Activate grant, to assess the potential benefits of agroforestry for bioenergy in the UK.

The scope of the project was to perform a high-level quantitative assessment, and to uncover key areas for future work. The study covered:

• The potential land area that could be transitioned to agroforestry by 2050, and the biomass yield for bioenergy that would arise from this.
• The impact of agroforestry on domestic UK biomass feedstock availability.
• The contribution of agroforestry towards net zero needs for bioenergy.
• Other decarbonising uses for biomass from agroforestry.
• Policy needs to enable agroforestry.

Find out more: The Potential of Agroforestry for Bioenergy in the UK

The Energy Technologies Institute commissioned Energy Systems Catapult to review and update the role of Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) in the UK achieving Net Zero carbon emission targets by 2050.

The review confirmed that a transition to Net Zero can happen without large scale bioenergy but it will be much more expensive (potentially up to £200bn).

‘The role for bioenergy in decarbonising the UK energy system’ report found:

• BECCS delivers negative emissions by using biomass to generate energy, capturing the CO₂ emissions from combustion and permanently holding them in geological storage.
• Producing electricity or hydrogen using BECCS technologies can maximise the potential percentage of CO₂ that could be captured.
• BECCS becomes increasingly important to achieve Net Zero carbon emission targets. Without negative emissions, achieving a target will require the prohibition of certain industrial activities and lifestyle choices or the reliance on imported carbon credits from other countries.
• Potential for up to 1.4 Mha of second-generation crops to be planted without detriment to current levels of food production.
• Constraining biomass resource availability, will increase the total cost of decarbonisation in the UK, requiring more expensive measures to be taken in other parts of the energy system.
• Currently, the Contracts for Difference scheme is the only policy support mechanism for new biomass to power technologies. It has so far only been awarded to 1,671 MW of biomass and waste technologies, with the next auction expected to take place in May 2019.

Find out more: The role for bioenergy in decarbonising the UK energy system