Within Utrecht University's strategic theme Pathways to Sustainability an interdisciplinary team of researchers has developed the impact-oriented research programme 'Deep Decarbonization: Towards Industry with Negative Emissions'. In this programme, a broad group of researchers (Renewable Energy Systems, Physics, Chemistry, Geology, Climate Policies, Innovation Studies, Governance, Economics and Law) will be working together with an equally broad group from industry, government and civil society, to generate new concepts to support the radical transformation of industry needed for our society to meet the ambitions of the Paris Agreement. The sustainable energy transition is well underway and gathering pace as far as electric renewables and electrification are concerned. However, it is still unclear how the industry will deal with carbon for fuel and feedstock, when total CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions must be brought down to zero around mid-century to meet the Paris target. It might be necessary for the industry to have effectively negative emissions, to offset unavoidable emissions in other sectors.
In the Deep Decarbonization Hub of the strategic theme, we aim to collaboratively develop a shared understanding of industrial transformation that actively supports the energy transition in industry. One of the hub's three main research lines focusses on Biofuels with Negative Emissions (BFNE).
Key questions are:
(a) What are the current and future prospects for second-generation biofuel and negative emission technologies in the Netherlands? What are the corresponding scientific, technological and economic challenges? How will future technologies improve and maximize the sustainable use of biomass compared to current biofuels production, distribution, and consumption?
(b) What are plausible and sustainable future visions for the introduction, regulation and governance of second-generation biofuels in the Netherlands that may also require biomass in combination with CCS for negative emissions (BECCS)?
(c) What strategies can be implemented for responsible and sustainable innovation in this domain as part of a broad strategy of biomass use in the Netherlands to achieve the sustainable visions in line with the Dutch commitment to the Paris Agreement?
