The Brazilian Bioenergy Science and Technology Conference and the 20-country Biofuture Platform multilateral initiative have joined forces to bring the world´s very best in policies, innovation, science and market outlook in the bioenergy and bioeconomy sectors to Brazil, in a landmark event which will take place from November 30 – December 2nd, 2020.

This unique event will combine two different conferences in one: the second Biofuture Platform policy conference (Biofuture Summit II), and the fourth edition of the Brazilian Bioenergy Science and Technology Conference (BBEST).

BBEST is a triannual international conference on bioenergy now in its fourth edition, after the very positive outcome from the previous versions in 2011, 2014 and 2017, attended by hundreds of researchers, entrepreneurs and government officials from Brazil and abroad. This time, besides covering relevant aspects of bioenergy, from biomass production to conversion and final use, the 2020 edition will highlight innovation.

The first Biofuture Summit (São Paulo, 2017) was highly successful, gathering more than 47 speakers and 320 select delegates from 28 countries, including policy makers from the 20 Biofuture member governments, international organizations, private sector representatives, and experts in different fields, discussing how to put together policy, innovation and finance to create an enabling environment for the sustainable low carbon bioeconomy.

In line with this, BBEST-Biofuture Summit II event will devote its first day to discuss policy and the role of the low carbon bioeconomy in a sustainable world and the ways to reach it, including key debates related to finance, transport policy, demand and carbon internalization policies, and sustainability governance, that are important to foster bioenergy innovation in the context of sustainable development, considering the perspectives of all significant stakeholders. The event will further have plenary and parallel sessions, poster sessions and networking opportunities will complete the program, which will include highlights on technologies for agronomy, biotech and biomass growing; biofuel production and advanced biorefining; aviation and transport applications; sustainability and carbon cycle analysis, among others.

We intend to showcase state-of-the-art processes and products, new trends and what is creating value and actual environmental and social benefits. Modern bioenergy vectors, such as bioelectricity and liquid biofuels, are competitive and readily available options for the urgent energy transition towards renewable energy, as imposed by global and local environmental concerns, as well as an improver of rural sector economy, social development and national energy security, in industrialized and developing countries. Yet the conventional processes for bioenergy production are well known and available, new systems for biomass production, conversion and use, more efficient, cost-effective and reliable have been developed and can be deployed to reinforce even more the bioenergy option in several contexts, including a promising and synergic integration with electric technologies in mobility.

At the joint event BBEST-Biofuture Summit II, we place the Brazilian bioenergy & bioeconomy development and its scientific progress in the context of this new reality. In a number of plenary and parallel sessions, we bring together São Paulo, Brazilian and internationally leading scientists and the business community to present progress within FAPESP’s BIOEN program and its international partnerships on key topics such as responsible land use, crop productivity and resilient multifunctional landscapes, harvesting technology, impact of logistics and scale, integral biorefinery development, and emerging advanced materials and energy carriers for aviation, marine and road transport. The continued progress in thinking around the sustainable bioeconomy development to benefit both developing and developed countries will be discussed in the framework of bioenergy & sustainability.

Please contact us for additional ideas, initiatives, or side-events that can constructively contribute to what promises to be a very exciting BBEST-Biofuture summit II Conference.

Glaucia Mendes Souza (USP, BIOEN) and
Luiz Augusto Horta Nogueira (NIPE/UNICAMP, BIOEN)
Renato Domith Godinho (Biofuture)

Conference Chairs