BEES announces the launch of Bio360 Africa

According to a statement, the two-day event will host conferences, an exhibition, and study tours, putting the limelight on the African bioenergy scene  – solid, liquid, and gaseous – and biochar, biomaterials, and carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS).

After two decades of event organisation focused on accelerating the Biotransition in Europe, we have arrived today at a place where our ambition is now to enlarge our role by acting as a catalyst, where we can, to accelerate the Biotransition also in other regions of the world. Based on our hard-earned credentials, a decades-long accrued sectoral knowledge coupled with a recognised international renown for our flagship event, Bio360 in Nantes, France, we have a firm footing on which to build and from which to make a bigger, bioenergy-impact, said Paul Stuart, CEO of BEES.

According to Paul Stuart, “impact” is the operative word, as the overarching motivator is what happens after the event.

The single most important determinant of the success of an event, as we see it, is what happens in its wake, once everyone has packed up and gone home again. The new projects that emerge, the new partnerships that are formed, the new insights that are gained that lead to new and game-changing innovations, the gaining of a fuller understanding of technical and market issues that lead to better decision making, and feed into tailored policy making, explained Paul Stuart.

From biomass tradition to biotransition – moving to modern bioenergy

Bioenergy remains central to energy access in Africa, where the vast majority of the population continues to depend on traditional biomass—mainly firewood, charcoal, and agricultural residues—for cooking and heating.

These fuels are typically used in open fires or inefficient stoves, resulting in high levels of indoor air pollution, respiratory illnesses, and a heavy burden on women and children who are responsible for fuel collection.

This widespread traditional use of biomass is a significant contributor to forest degradation due to unsustainable harvesting practices and low combustion efficiency.

However, the resource is often located in remote or rural areas, outside urban centers, where a reliable power supply is frequently needed.

This creates valuable opportunities for agro-industries, often located at the end of a power line and frequently affected by brownouts, to generate their own electricity or even sell surplus power back to the grid.

Modern bioenergy solutions use advanced technologies to efficiently and sustainably convert biomass—such as wood and wood residues, energy crops, agricultural and crop residues, and organic waste from industries, agriculture, landscape management, and households—into solid, liquid or gaseous fuels that can be used to produce heat and/or electricity or can be used as a transport fuel.

These innovative systems are steadily gaining ground in Africa, providing cleaner, more sustainable alternatives. Bioenergy encompasses many potential feedstocks, conversion processes, and energy applications. It interacts strongly with the agriculture, forestry, and waste management sectors, and its prospects are linked to the growth of a broader bioeconomy. Bioenergy can only expand if supplied and used sustainably, and that is what Bio360 Africa aims to showcase, said Paul Stuart.

First-of-its-kind event in Africa

Bio360 Africa is set to be a first-of-its-kind event in Africa, and is being organised in close collaboration with the Southern African Biogas Industry Association (SABIA).

As the weeks and months advance, Bio360 Africa will welcome into its fold more sectoral, multi-lateral, institutional, and media partners from across our international network to make this inaugural edition of Bio360 Africa already a real platform to boost the uptake of bioenergy and the bioeconomy across the African continent, said Paul Stuart.