With "boosting economic recovery with the energy transition" as the motto of the 2021 World Sustainable Energy Days (WSED), the "special edition" hybrid event held June 21-25, 2021 attracted over 650 experts from 62 countries of which over 100 of them turned up on-site in real life at the venue in Wels, Austria. This also made it one of the first international post-COVID-19 bioenergy events to have been held and, by all accounts, a successful one.
As such it is rather auspicious as the 2020 WSED was one of the very last international conferences held before the first coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic lockdowns were first implemented across Europe.
As it happens 2021 also marks the 30th anniversary of OÖ Energiesparverband, the regional energy agency of Upper Austria and organizer of the WSED, which was also highlighted with the conference’s evening event dedicated to celebrating this milestone during the event.
Comprised of several dedicated conference themes such as Energy Efficiency and Smart E-Mobility, the week-long event also included as usual the European Pellet Conference (EPC), the world’s largest annual international pellet event, that was held on June 22, 2021.
Once again the EPC turned out to be both a digital and physical meeting place for the global pellet community attracting over 400 participants from around the world. The latest technology and business trends, updates on policies, news from research and innovation, and pilot projects along with an outlook on the developments of European and global markets, were presented.
Biomass is a cornerstone for the success of the clean energy transition in Europe and globally. It also has a very important role to play in Europe’s clean and green recovery – the European Green Deal.
Starting off with the strategy session “A green recovery with bioenergy”, which showed how the pellet sector can profit from this deep transformation, it was followed by the session “Driving out 17 million oil heating systems in the EU” pointed out the key role pellets can play in phasing out fossil fuels still used to heat European homes.
Other highlights of the pellet conference were the “World of Pellets Session”, where international experts from around the world shared their views and insights on the development of pellet markets and provided market updates and outlooks.
The “Pellet Innovation Factory” session allowed technology providers an opportunity to present innovative technologies, projects, and solutions for pellets across the bioenergy value chain.
The next edition of the World Sustainable Energy Days and European Pellet Conference will return to its usual timing and be held in Wels from March 2-4, 2022. The deadline for the Call for Papers is October 12, 2021.
