PHOENIX BIOPOWER AB

Their core work

Phoenix BioPower is a Stockholm-based energy technology SME developing a next-generation biomass-fired power cycle — the Biomass-fired Top Cycle (BTC) — aimed at roughly doubling the electrical efficiency of conventional biomass CHP plants. They combine high-pressure biomass gasification with gas turbine technology to produce dispatchable, carbon-negative heat and power from forest residues, and are extending the concept to co-combust renewable hydrogen for grid flexibility. Their work targets the gap between intermittent renewables and baseload fossil plants, offering utilities a way to balance power systems with biogenic carbon capture potential.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Both H2020 projects started in 2021, so the first-half vs second-half split reflects complementary concurrent work rather than a real timeline shift. Still, a direction is visible: EUCANwin anchors their core competence in biomass CHP efficiency and CO2 capture with Canadian partners, while Bio-FlexGen pushes the same top-cycle technology toward hydrogen co-firing and grid flexibility. The trajectory is from pure biomass efficiency toward hybrid biomass-hydrogen dispatchable power.

Heading toward flexible, hydrogen-compatible biomass power systems — attractive for partners working on grid balancing, BECCS, or sector coupling.

How they like to work

Phoenix BioPower participates as a technology partner rather than a consortium leader, which is typical for an SME contributing a specific proprietary cycle into larger research consortia. Both projects are RIA-funded and involve sizeable international consortia — 22 unique partners across 8 countries — suggesting they bring a well-defined technological asset that others build around. Expect them to be a focused contributor on thermodynamic modelling, prototype integration, and techno-economic analysis rather than a broad coordinator.

Network of 22 distinct partners spanning 8 countries, with a clear Nordic base (Sweden) extended through a formal European–Canadian collaboration in EUCANwin and broader EU partners in Bio-FlexGen.

What sets them apart

Very few European SMEs own a proprietary high-efficiency biomass power cycle — Phoenix BioPower's BTC concept is distinctive because it simultaneously targets higher electrical yield, dispatchability, and compatibility with hydrogen co-firing and CO2 capture. For a partner building a BECCS, flexible CHP, or biomass-to-power consortium, they offer something large utilities and research institutes typically lack: a company-owned technology platform at pilot-to-demo maturity. Their participation in both an EU-internal project and a transatlantic EU-Canada project signals credibility beyond the Swedish market.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Bio-FlexGen
  Largest grant (EUR 1.43M) and the project most directly advancing their core top-fired cycle toward flexible biomass-hydrogen operation.
• EUCANwin
  Rare EU–Canada transatlantic RIA consortium tying their CHP technology to forest biomass supply chains and CO2 capture.