Abstract

The 1st generation ethanol produced from sweet sorghum presents an high environmental, economic and energetic sustainability: the ascribed GHGs saving is 70-71%, the technical simplicity of the processing and the exploitation of by-products guarantee the economic viability also for decentralised small-medium plants (max 15,000 t/y) and its energy ratio is 1.7-7.3.

In the current situation the EU ethanol market is controlled by big industrial groups and large agricultural cooperatives of the sugar and alcohol industries and mainly cereals are processed in big plants (100,000-200,000t/y). This situation is due to some relevant barriers: economic, logistical, ecological, environmental, social and dissemination barrier.

The project will contribute to change the current situation concerning the raw material diversification, decentralisation and sustainability of 1st generation ethanol processing from sweet sorghum, which can be grown in the southern regions of the EU.

At the moment the ethanol chain is not taken in account because of the absence of know-how about its potentialities.

The project is organised in the following actions:

• know-how refining about the ethanol production from sweet sorghum (subject of WP2). The more interesting data (e.g. investment costs, energy consumption, production costs, ethanol yield, by-products exploitation) will be collected visiting the germplasm suppliers (e.g. agricultural institutes), plant construction companies, existing plants;

• sustainable model discussion of the EU model with representatives of each chain player (subject of the WP3). The chain players (i.e. farmers, agricultural associations, fuel processors, SMEs, seeds and agricultural companies, investors, policy makers and public authorities representatives, energy agencies) will be engaged in the EU model discussion in sectorial and intersectorial workshops at national and international level;

• chain actors training (subjects of the WP4). It aims to provide tailor-made courses per categories of chain actor (i.e. farmers, agricultural associations, fuel processors, SMEs, seeds and agricultural companies, investors, policy makers and public authorities representatives, energy agencies);

• building the online community (subject of the WP5). It is a virtual place where all the chain actors may create the network in order to share and gather information about the sweet sorghum ethanol chain. The WP5 aims to build up, besides of the website (web 1.0 approach) developed in the WP6, web 2.0 communication tools among them: blog, forum, social network, teleconferences, reputation management and web monitoring.

Main Objectives

1) The know-how diffusion about the sustainable EU model

The sustainable EU model will be shared among the chain actors (i.e. farmers, fuel processors and distributors), which accept it through the discussion of the technical, logistic, economic, financial, energetic, environmental and administrative aspects (outcomes of WP2 and WP3) and it will be widely spread by each target group (outcomes of WP4, WP5 and WP6). Consequently, as market players, they will be encouraged to start up new entrepreneurships to increase the economic competitiveness and at the same time the environmental sustainability of ethanol (priority of the IEE 2009 Call for Proposal). The changes in the ethanol market will be the enhanced raw material diversification, decentralisation of the production and sustainability of 1st generation ethanol (mainly as GHGs saving). The proposed wide discussion about the production of 1st generation ethanol using sweet sorghum (outcomes of WP2, WP3 and WP4) will contribute to address the current debates on land use and sustainability and to facilitate and promote a well-informed discussion and a balanced attitude amongst decision makers and the general public (priorities of the IEE 2009 Call for Proposal).

2) The daily updating through the network building and the supply chain co-ordination

The market players will be able to count on daily updating of the legislative, administrative and technical aspects related to the ethanol production and market (in general, and specifically using sweet sorghum) through the “Sweethanol - Online community” (outcomes of the WP5). The daily offered updated service will simplify the market analysis necessary for the start up of new entrepreneurship (priority of the IEE 2009 Call for Proposal); consequently the diversification of the ethanol market will be stimulated and the market centralization among few numbers of chain actors (at the present above all big industrial groups) will be contrasted. Moreover, the network building will contribute to address the issues under discussion in the current debates on land use and sustainability and to facilitate and promote well-informed debate and a balanced attitude amongst decision makers and the general public (priorities of the IEE 2009 Call for Proposal).

Abstract

The 1st generation ethanol produced from sweet sorghum presents an high environmental, economic and energetic sustainability: the ascribed GHGs saving is 70-71%, the technical simplicity of the processing and the exploitation of by-products guarantee the economic viability also for decentralised small-medium plants (max 15,000 t/y) and its energy ratio is 1.7-7.3.

In the current situation the EU ethanol market is controlled by big industrial groups and large agricultural cooperatives of the sugar and alcohol industries and mainly cereals are processed in big plants (100,000-200,000t/y). This situation is due to some relevant barriers: economic, logistical, ecological, environmental, social and dissemination barrier.

The project will contribute to change the current situation concerning the raw material diversification, decentralisation and sustainability of 1st generation ethanol processing from sweet sorghum, which can be grown in the southern regions of the EU.

At the moment the ethanol chain is not taken in account because of the absence of know-how about its potentialities.

The project is organised in the following actions:

• know-how refining about the ethanol production from sweet sorghum (subject of WP2). The more interesting data (e.g. investment costs, energy consumption, production costs, ethanol yield, by-products exploitation) will be collected visiting the germplasm suppliers (e.g. agricultural institutes), plant construction companies, existing plants;

• sustainable model discussion of the EU model with representatives of each chain player (subject of the WP3). The chain players (i.e. farmers, agricultural associations, fuel processors, SMEs, seeds and agricultural companies, investors, policy makers and public authorities representatives, energy agencies) will be engaged in the EU model discussion in sectorial and intersectorial workshops at national and international level;

• chain actors training (subjects of the WP4). It aims to provide tailor-made courses per categories of chain actor (i.e. farmers, agricultural associations, fuel processors, SMEs, seeds and agricultural companies, investors, policy makers and public authorities representatives, energy agencies);

• building the online community (subject of the WP5). It is a virtual place where all the chain actors may create the network in order to share and gather information about the sweet sorghum ethanol chain. The WP5 aims to build up, besides of the website (web 1.0 approach) developed in the WP6, web 2.0 communication tools among them: blog, forum, social network, teleconferences, reputation management and web monitoring.

Main Objectives

1) The know-how diffusion about the sustainable EU model

The sustainable EU model will be shared among the chain actors (i.e. farmers, fuel processors and distributors), which accept it through the discussion of the technical, logistic, economic, financial, energetic, environmental and administrative aspects (outcomes of WP2 and WP3) and it will be widely spread by each target group (outcomes of WP4, WP5 and WP6). Consequently, as market players, they will be encouraged to start up new entrepreneurships to increase the economic competitiveness and at the same time the environmental sustainability of ethanol (priority of the IEE 2009 Call for Proposal). The changes in the ethanol market will be the enhanced raw material diversification, decentralisation of the production and sustainability of 1st generation ethanol (mainly as GHGs saving). The proposed wide discussion about the production of 1st generation ethanol using sweet sorghum (outcomes of WP2, WP3 and WP4) will contribute to address the current debates on land use and sustainability and to facilitate and promote a well-informed discussion and a balanced attitude amongst decision makers and the general public (priorities of the IEE 2009 Call for Proposal).

2) The daily updating through the network building and the supply chain co-ordination

The market players will be able to count on daily updating of the legislative, administrative and technical aspects related to the ethanol production and market (in general, and specifically using sweet sorghum) through the “Sweethanol - Online community” (outcomes of the WP5). The daily offered updated service will simplify the market analysis necessary for the start up of new entrepreneurship (priority of the IEE 2009 Call for Proposal); consequently the diversification of the ethanol market will be stimulated and the market centralization among few numbers of chain actors (at the present above all big industrial groups) will be contrasted. Moreover, the network building will contribute to address the issues under discussion in the current debates on land use and sustainability and to facilitate and promote well-informed debate and a balanced attitude amongst decision makers and the general public (priorities of the IEE 2009 Call for Proposal).