EUBCE 2024: France to host the world’s largest conference on biomass and the bioeconomy in Marseille, 24-28 June


The largest international conference on research, technologies and applications in the biomass and bio-economy will take place from 24 to 28 June at Parc Chanot in Marseille. This year, the 32nd EUBCE will bring together 1,500 participants, 60 partners, 20 exhibitors and 20 European Horizon Europe projects to discuss the latest developments and innovations in the field, promote meetings and establish partnerships. Guillaume Boissonnet, Research Director at the CEA’s I-Tésé Institute, is this year’s General Chairman and the CEA will be well represented alongside IFPEN, INRAE, CIRAD, CNRS, the academic world, ADEME, FranceAgriMer and the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment.

In Europe and France, bioenergy is the most widely used renewable energy. Bioenergy is making a significant contribution to defossilising the energy mix. Although biomass is currently mainly used to produce heat and electricity, it has great potential for other applications such as biofuels, biogas and biomolecules. European policies and those of several countries, including France, show that this resource will play an important role, both in terms of its uses and its carbon storage properties: food, materials, molecules, energy and negative emissions. It is also an ambitious component of the National Low Carbon Strategy and the National Biomass Mobilisation Strategy. It is also the subject of several national programmes and public-private partnerships for energy transition.

The 2024 conference programme, coordinated by the European Commission Joint Research Center with the support of the Circular Bio-Based Europe Joint Undertaking, with nearly 800 presentations, will be an opportunity to discover the latest scientific, technological and commercial trends, and to review the latest research and developments from institutes, universities and companies around the world, as well as energy policies. It will be an opportunity to answer the questions that arise now that a large number of technologies have reached technological maturity and the feasibility of industrial processes has been demonstrated: how to develop the best use of biomass in sectors that need to be defossilised but are difficult or impossible to decarbonise? How can we harmonise the approaches and interests of the various research, industrial and economic communities at European and national level? What legislation should be put in place to ensure that increased use respects ecosystems and biodiversity and addresses LULUCF (Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry) issues?

The opening morning of the conference will take place on Monday 24 June 2024, from 9:00 to 12:30, and will be attended by scientific, industrial and institutional leaders. High-level representatives from the International Energy Agency, ADEME, the General Secretariat for Ecological Planning, the General Directorate for Energy and Climate, and the Ministries of Research, Agriculture, Environment and Economy will be present. Representatives of the European Commission Joint Research Center, the European Parliament and the Sud Provence-Alpes-C?te d’Azur (PACA) region will also be present.

The welcome ceremony and speeches by the PACA Region, the City of Marseille and the host University of Aix-Marseille will take place late on Monday 24 June 2024 in Parc Chanot.


“It’s time to make it clear that biomass has a key role to play in Europe’s energy future, while preserving its role as a carbon store and sink.
It’s time to show that biomass can be advantageously combined with other decarbonised energy sources and vectors (electricity, heat, hydrogen).
It’s time to show that the circular carbon economy is a concept for the future, applicable to both biomass and CO2.”
Guillaume Boissonnet, General Chairman of the Conference, Research Director at CEA.