On behalf of the Organizing Committee I would like to welcome you to the International Conference and Exhibition BIOENERGY: Challenges and Opportunities .

The decision by the European Council to set a binding target of 20% of energy from renewables by 2020, from a share of approximately 7% today, clearly defines the energy policy in the forthcoming decades. This includes a 10% mandatory level of biofuels. Within these boundaries, individual countries will define their energy portfolio. At any rate, Bioenergy will play a crucial role in fulfilling these objectives in heating for domestic and industrial applications, power generation and, decisively, in transportation fuels. Achieving such objectives by overcoming the technical and economic challenges requires a sustained effort shared by policy makers, industry, R&D institutions. New raw materials, processing techniques, fuel conversion, logistics, sustainability of resources, competition with other applications of resources, certification and economic competitiveness are some of the key issues that must be addressed.

BIOENERGY: Challenges and Opportunities will be the first International Conference in Portugal dedicated to Bioenergy. It will provide a single comprehensive forum for the scientific and industrial community in which the state of the art in Bioenergy science and technology will be addressed by combining technical sessions including plenary sessions by invited speakers with a Technical Exhibition and a match making Brockerage Event.

Hitherto the share of renewable energy in Portugal has been mostly dependent upon the hydroelectric sector. However the potential growth for Bioenergy is substantial as approximately 38% of the Portuguese land is covered by forestry. Also energy crops and wastes resulting from forestry based industries and agriculture represent a substantial resource for Bioenergy. In this context the Bioenergy sector is becoming extremely attractive and a variety of industrial projects are being implemented. The creation of a National Network in Bioenergy, CEBio, is a clear indication of the dynamics in the sector. The BIOENERGY: Challenges and Opportunities forum will meet the appropriate environment for knowledge interchange between the scientific and industrial community.

BIOENERGY: Challenges and Opportunities will take place in Guimarães, a pleasant historic town awarded with the status of World Heritage of Humankind by UNESCO in 2001. Certainly the venue will be agreeable and, as it is tradition, we will go to any lengths to make all and every participant to feel at home.

We will make sure the event will be successful and we are looking forward to welcome you next April.

On behalf of the Organising Committee
José Carlos Teixeira