PELLET CONNECT WORKSHOP by ELEABIOM

REPORT ON THE “PELLET CONNECT WORKSHOP” ORGANIZED BY THE HELLENIC BIOMASS DEVELOPMENT COMPANY (ELEAVIOM) IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE FORWARD GREEN EXPO

Following the successful event BIOMASS DAY 2025, the Hellenic Biomass Development Company (ELEABIOM) also organized in Thessaloniki the Saturday, March 15, 2025, in the context of its participation as a supporter and exhibitor of the annual circular economy exhibition FORWARD GREEN, the interactive PELLET CONNECT WORKSHOP. The aim of the Workshop was to present the important current developments in the industrial, agricultural and domestic heating and heat production sectors, which place the bioheat and the pellet in one new contribution trajectory as a calculable and reliable part of the solution during the demineralization process of the above sectors.

Through specialized presentations, case studies and discussions with leading experts, the following were examined:

• The existing Bioheat market and legislation & pellets in Greece and Europe.
• The operation, for the first time in our country, of retail price index for wood pellets.
• The new ones technologies low emissions of air pollutants and the trends in sustainable heating.
• The subsidized programs energy saving.
• OR communication campaign «"Economical - Natural - Smart - Clean" for wood pellets.
• The contribution of biofuels and pellet production as an active sector of circular bioeconomy and her sustainable forest management.
• The prospects and conditions for the development of the biofuel and pellet industry within the new energy reality, based on the forecasts and objectives of the updated National Energy and Climate Plan (NESK) and given the general trend electrification the heating sector.

In the introductory statement, the Nikos Damatis, Production & Management Engineer – General Secretary of the Board of Directors of ELEAVIOM and coordinator of the Workshop, presented the current situation, trends, challenges and them prospects for the European and domestic industry bioheat, emphasizing that the particularly ambitious European goals, on the way to climate neutrality by 2050, is impossible to achieve without the active contribution of modern bioheat, which offers a ohtechnologically advanced and affordable solution, complementary to electrification in buildings and immediately available for industry. At the same time, he noted that the utilization of biomass for bioheat production is linked to the circular bioeconomy and forest ecosystem management, a process fully compatible with the ongoing relevant forestry reform of the Ministry of Interior, as well as by avoiding the burning of prunings and agricultural residues, a goal of sustainable agriculture promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. He also underlined the importance of bringing together all stakeholders in the biofuel market and specifically entrepreneurs, pellet producers and traders, installers, maintainers, thermo-hydraulics, scientists, engineers, energy inspectors and individuals who are looking for sustainable heating solutions, so that the sector as a whole can meet its goals National Energy and Climate Plan (ESEK), which reserve enhanced contribution to modern bioenergy, both in household sector, where consumption of 20% is predicted for 2030 and 26% for 2050 of total final energy consumption, both in industry and agriculture.

The event revolved around two central panels which were attended by distinguished scientists, professionals and representatives of businesses in the biomass utilization sector.

In first panel, which was titled «"Pellet Purchase, Heating Electrification & Support Programs"» and was coordinated by Thodoris Panagouli, Journalist, Editorial Director of the energy portal energypress.gr, participated by: Chrysoula Vaitsi, General Secretary of the Panhellenic Association of Certified Energy Inspectors (PSYPENEP), Panagiotis Karabelas, General Secretary of the Association of Thermo-Plumbing Contractors of Thessaloniki Prefecture, Member of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Plumbing Craftsmen of Greece (OBYE), Maria Andrielou, MSc, MA, CEO & Founder Clean Stories, General Director & Co-Founder of the Hellenic Association for the Bioeconomy (ESYB) and Vasilis Philippou, Dr. Forester – Environmentalist, Scientific Associate CERTH, Member of the Board of Directors of the Karditsa Energy Community (ESEK SYN.PE).

Mrs. Vaitsi, on behalf of PSYPENEP, stated that this year the Association celebrates ten years of operation and active involvement in the issues of energy engineers who monitor all energy upgrade programs. In these programs, Greece is a pioneer, as one of the first EU countries, which has already started their implementation since 2011, while from 2015 onwards they are fully implemented through digital platforms of the Ministry of Economic Development. Among these programs, such as the current «"I save 2025"», heating and hot water production systems hold a central position in energy efficiency improvement interventions. In these systems, only those costs related to heat pumps and biomass boilers are eligible., especially with standardized solid biofuels such as pellets and briquettes, while fossil fuel boilers (gas and oil) are no longer subsidized.

Mr. Karabelas, on behalf of the Association of Thermohydraulic Contractors of Thessaloniki Prefecture and the OBYE, stated that the experience of heating system installers has shown that in the past many pellet devices and systems have been installed, providing solutions that are more economical and environmentally friendly, however, mistakes occurred due to the lack of information provided to the public and the lack of familiarity of technicians with installation and maintenance. In recent years, Better information has begun to be provided to technicians and citizens regarding the installation and maintenance of systems, as well as the selection and storage of fuel., in order to address the problems and overturn the misunderstandings that had arisen. Mr. Karabelas also emphasized that Pellet boilers come to operate complementary to heat pumps and not in competition with them. as renewable heating systems, especially outside the densely built urban fabric, while licensed thermo-hydraulic installers have the technical knowledge, training and experience to support this transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources in the heating sector.

Mrs. Andrielou, on behalf of Clean Stories, presented the results of innovative information campaign to promote renewable heating through wood pellets «"Economical-Natural-Smart-Clean"» which emerged through the collaboration of Pellet Working Group of ELEAVIOM with the company Clean Stories. Specifically, explained the campaign's goals and methodology, as well as the deliverables that took the form of both electronic information through social networks and interaction between parties involved in the pellet and heating systems market, as well as printed material for sharing brochures and suspension poster and infographic in the network of stores of pellet production and marketing companies, as well as heating systems marketing. Given that the digital campaign lasted only a month, but it multiplied the impact of post views and contributed significantly to rekindling the public debate on the benefits and the main characteristics of using pellet heating systems in the Greek market, it is understood that the campaign may be repeated in the near future, appropriately mobilizing all market players involved in actions to exploit its messages.

Mr. Philippou developed his new initiative domestic pellet retail market price index, which is being implemented for the first time in the country under the auspices of ELEAVIOM and the scientific support of CERTH, following the model of corresponding initiatives in other countries (e.g. proPellets Austria). The monthly recording of the retail price index of pellets enables consumers to obtain a clear picture of the price fluctuation and to compare it with the energy cost of other fuels available on the market. It was also highlighted that growing interest from even more pellet retail stores from all over the country to participate in the monthly price index survey.

In second panel, which was titled «"Sustainable Forest Management, Modern Bioenergy & Biomass Industry"» and was coordinated by Dr. Mechanical Engineer and scientific associate of the Bioeconomy & Environment Cluster of Western Macedonia (ClubBE) Athanasios Lambropoulos participated by:  George Nikolaidis, Mechanical Engineer, General Manager AXINAR, Dimitris Karagiannis, Dipl. Electrical Engineer, Director of Biomass Power Generation Unit BIOPAR ENERGY SA RAVAGO Group and Vasilis Philippou on behalf of  Charalambos Lykidis, Dr., Assistant Professor of the Department of Forestry & Forestry/AUTH and Director of the Wood Technology Laboratory (Forest Technology).

Mr. Nikolaidis, on behalf of Axinar and based on the experience and daily practice of manufacturing heating systems, emphasized that the heating industry is changing rapidly, in line with technological and legislative developments. As heat pumps have a certain market share to claim, they also leave room for further development of pellet systems in professional applications with higher power, such as greenhouses, car washes, etc. At the same time, he emphasized that it is vital for thermo-hydraulic technicians to become familiar with pellet systems, already during their studies at technical schools, while he also noted that the The manufacturing and marketing of pellet heating systems is a European industry par excellence.iForeign and domestic professional sector which contributes to added value, income generation and job creation within the country.

Mr. Karagiannis, on behalf of BIOPAR, presented the company's 5 MWe power generation unit in the 2nd Industrial Zone of Volos, which operates reliably and with a high utilization rate per year, using residual biomass from at least three sources of raw materials to ensure logistical security. At the same time, he referred to the challenges which is faced by biomass utilization industry in our country, with the most important ones being the lack of standardization of solid biofuels for industrial use, the inability to create long-term supply chains and stressed that possible solutions addressing these specific problems could be the creation of local collection and pre-processing - standardization points of the available residual biomass (such as the model proposed by ELEABIOM) «"Green Biomass Points"»), but also the wider dissemination of condensation technology (pelletization - briquetting) of biomass to mitigate transportation and storage costs.

Mr. Philippou, replacing Dr. Lykidis on the panel, referred to the symbiotic relationship which is developing internationally between sustainable forest management and her modern bioenergy as a necessity to maintain the health and climate resilience of forest ecosystems. At the same time, it developed the main axes of forest reform as promoted and implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Energy, including the management of forest residues, which is related to both forest management plans and fire protection plans. He emphasized, in fact, that the wood processing and bioenergy sectors are called upon to play a significant role in the rational and sustainable management of forest residues, achieving the consolidation of the principles of the circular bioeconomy, the optimization of bioheat technologies, the reducing dependence on fossil fuels and her support and economic development of local communities.

The PELLET CONNECT WORKSHOP gave the opportunity to its members and partners ELEABIOM from northern Greece, as well as to visitors FORWARD GREEN to network, exchange views and be informed about the initiatives and actions of the Biomass Association ELEABIOM.

The Board of Directors of ELEAVIOM warmly thanks all the speakers and panel moderators, the participants, the members and partners, the companies - sponsors of the event and the members Alpha Wood, Axinar, Eco Trade and Kiprianidis, the Hellenic-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the possibility of presenting the European research project PROMOFER in the context of the event entitled «The Future of Packaging: The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (2025/40) and market best practices» of HELEXPO Dialogues, as well as all the visitors and volunteers who supported the presence of the Biomass Association at the exhibition this year. FORWARD GREEN.

– Download the Press Release here.