BALTPOOL is introducing another sustainability solution – a Biomass traceability tool

With the growing demand for sustainable biomass in Europe, the international biomass exchange BALTPOOL is introducing a new solution for its clients – a Biomass traceability tool. This will enable market participants to determine the precise origin of biomass and the raw materials used.

“Our vision is to make our biomass trading platform the number one choice for sustainable biomass trade in Europe, so we decided to develop a tool enabling participants to easily find all the information they need about the origin of the raw materials of biomass. This is the first step in making it easier for market participants to comply with the requirements of RED II,” says Andrius Smaliukas, CEO of BALTPOOL.

From now on, before selling biomass, the seller will have to provide detailed information about its products. For example, indicating the exact location from where the biomass will be transported and under which contract, the quantity of the supplied biomass, and the raw materials that were used to produce it. In addition to this information, it will be necessary to indicate any relevant certificates. An option to attach images of the raw materials will also be available.

“When phasing out fossil energy, biomass fuels is an easy and efficient solution that works. With the new BALTPOOL biomass traceability tool, buyers will be able to demonstrate their compliance with the ambitious European sustainability criteria. In fact, bioenergy is currently the most controlled and sustainable energy source that we have,” says Gustav Melin, CEO of the Swedish Bioenergy Association (SVEBIO) and partner of BALTPOOL. 

After viewing all of the information provided by the seller, the buyer will be able to accept the fuel with the help of an online application. This is done by entering the necessary data during the biomass acceptance process: specifying the weight in tonnes, entering the data of the taken samples, and attaching images of the raw materials. All of this information will be visible in the trading platform’s quality reports.

Both sellers and buyers will be able to use the tool to easily calculate preliminary CO2 emissions, view statistics on the amount and type of raw materials, and the location from which they were transported under certain contracts.

The Biomass traceability tool will be available to market participants on the BALTPOOL website under the ‘Biomass Exchange’ section. Users can log in to the tool with the same credentials as for the BALTPOOL trading system. To learn more, click on the following link: https://red.www.baltpool.eu/en/.

The international biomass exchange BALTPOOL has also announced more important news for this year. As of May, biomass exchange participants can sell biomass that meets the sustainability requirements for an SBP (Sustainable Biomass Program) certificate. This is especially relevant for Scandinavian and Baltic companies. An SBP certificate certifies that biomass has been obtained from legal and sustainable sources and that the company producing it complies with the established requirements. The exchange also offers biomass products with FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and ENplus® certificates.

In March, BALTPOOL began selling biomass in the ports of the Baltic and Scandinavian countries, as well as Poland. This has provided biomass producers and sellers with better prospects to expand their sales volumes and geography in international markets. Buyers from Scandinavian countries also have increased opportunities to purchase sustainable biomass from the Baltic region.

BALTPOOL currently operates in the Baltic and Nordic countries and has over 470 participants. The international biomass exchange sells wood chips, wood pellets, fuel peat, and lignin. During 2020, 5.5 TWh of biomass was sold on the exchange and 5,629 transactions were concluded, which amounted to 54.9 million Euros.