An energy source made from biomass, coined 'green coal' made its debut at the Energy from Biomass and Waste conference on 26-27 January in London.

The G+R Technology Group, a market leader in Germany in the field of green future technologies, is building the first industrial production facility for biocoal and believes 'green coal' is the solution for the energy issues and environmental problems of the 21st century.       

'In the long term, green, environmentally friendly heat and electricity will be extracted from "green coal"', said Robert Stöcklinger, chief executive officer of the G+R Technology Group.

What took nature millions of years can now be achieved within just a few hours. In a simple chemical process, biowaste, plant matter and organic waste is turned into highly efficient combustible coal that is, at the same time, kind to the environment.

Compared to brown or black coal, 'green coal' is carbon neutral and can even contribute to a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

The 'green coal' production process was first described in 1913 by the German chemist and Nobel laureate, Friedrich Berguis and was recently rediscovered by the Max-Planck Institute. The production process, known as hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC), is simple in principle and is similar to cooking. All kinds of organic biomass are put into a kind of pressure cooker, water is added as a converter and the mixture is heated. After a couple of hours 'green coal' is produced.

One of the many advantages of this method, compared to other synthetic coal production processes, is that all types of organic residue and biowaste can be processed, even animal waste and sewage sludge. Furthermore, the production process involves comparatively low energy consumption.

A pioneer plant for 'green coal' will be put into operation by G+R in Bavaria, Germany in 2010.

'Similar plants are also being commissioned in the UK that could go online as early as 2011/2012', said Stöcklinger.