Imagine you have a pile of wood chips, agricultural leftovers, or even damp municipal waste. Today's small power plants can only convert about 20% of that energy into electricity — the rest is wasted as heat. BLAZE built a system that combines a smart gasifier with fuel cells to push that number to 50%, while producing almost zero emissions. Think of it as upgrading from an old diesel generator to a modern hybrid engine, but for biomass.
Small and medium-scale biomass power plants today waste 80% of the energy in their fuel, converting only about 20% to electricity. This makes distributed biomass energy expensive and uncompetitive compared to fossil alternatives. At the same time, tightening emissions regulations and community opposition to particulate pollution threaten existing biomass installations.
The project built and tested an integrated CHP system combining a bubbling fluidised bed gasifier with high-temperature gas cleaning and a 25 kWe solid oxide fuel cell. The assembled system (deliverable D5.4) was manufactured, integrated, and successfully tested for operability, demonstrating that biomass gasification and fuel cell technology can work as a single unit.
If you are a biomass plant operator struggling with low electrical efficiency and high operating costs — this project developed an integrated gasifier-fuel cell CHP system that reaches 50% electrical efficiency compared to the typical 20%, with operating costs around 0.05 €/kWh and electricity production cost below 0.10 €/kWh. The system handles a wide range of fuels including high-moisture and high-ash feedstocks.
If you are a wood processing company paying to dispose of sawdust, bark, and offcuts — this project developed a CHP system in the 25-100 kWe range that converts forest residues into electricity and heat with near-zero particulate emissions. Investment costs target below 4,000 €/kWe, making on-site power generation viable for smaller operations.
If you are a waste management company looking for cleaner alternatives to incineration — this project built a gasification and fuel cell system that handles heterogeneous feedstocks including municipal waste with high moisture and contaminant content. The system achieves zero particulate matter and ultra-low tar emissions, improving social acceptance for plants near residential areas.
The project targets investment costs below 4,000 €/kWe and operating costs of approximately 0.05 €/kWh, with projected electricity production cost below 0.10 €/kWh. These are design targets validated through techno-economic assessment during the project.
BLAZE was designed for small (25-100 kWe) to medium (0.1-5 MWe) capacity. The demonstrator integrated a 25 kWe solid oxide fuel cell with a 100 kWth gasifier. Scaling up to the megawatt range would require further engineering and validation.
The consortium of 15 partners across 5 countries developed this technology, coordinated by Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi in Italy. With 7 SMEs and 9 industry partners in the consortium, licensing discussions would need to go through the consortium. SciTransfer can facilitate introductions.
The system was designed for the widest fuel spectrum applicable, including forest residues, agricultural waste, industrial biomass, and municipal waste — even feedstocks with high moisture, ash, and contaminant content. This flexibility is a key differentiator from competing biomass CHP technologies.
Current small-scale biomass CHP systems typically achieve around 20% electrical efficiency. BLAZE targets 50% electrical efficiency by integrating solid oxide fuel cells with the gasification process. This represents a potential 2.5x improvement in electricity output from the same amount of fuel.
The project targets almost zero gaseous and particulate matter emissions through its integrated high-temperature gas cleaning system. The system removes HCl, H2S, particulates, and tars before the gas reaches the fuel cells, which is critical for meeting increasingly strict air quality regulations.
The project ran from 2019 to 2023 and successfully assembled and tested the integrated CHP system at demonstrator scale (25 kWe SOFC + 100 kWth gasifier). Based on available project data, commercial deployment would require further scale-up and field testing. The technology is at demonstrated prototype stage.
The BLAZE consortium is unusually industry-heavy for an EU research project: 9 out of 15 partners are industrial, including 7 SMEs, giving it a 60% industry ratio. This signals genuine commercial intent — these aren't just academic labs passing papers around. The consortium spans 5 countries (Belgium, Switzerland, France, Italy, Netherlands) and is coordinated by Università Guglielmo Marconi in Italy. With major European gasifier, gas conditioning, and SOFC companies involved, the path from lab to market has real industrial backing. The EUR 4.26 million budget funded a complete system integration and test, not just component research.
Coordinated by Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi (Italy). SciTransfer can facilitate a direct introduction to the project team.
Want to explore licensing this biomass CHP technology or connecting with the BLAZE consortium? Contact SciTransfer for a tailored introduction and technical brief.
