Then and Now: 120 Bioeconomy Pioneers look at yesterday, today, inspirations and challenges

Samanta Fawcett

Then: I was studying French & Business Management at the University in the heart of Paris, France. Looking back to those times I am pretty sure I did not knew much about bioenergy.

Now: I am currently working as a conference production director delivering some of most important events on bioenergy calendar. My research covers second generation advanced biofuels & materials, biomass power, biogas, biochemicals etc. I conduct research projects and write exciting content for the CEO’s and senior representatives of bioenergy companies and particularly enjoy organizing technical site visit tours. In the past few years I had unique chance to visit many biorefineries and some of biomass power plants in Europe.

Inspirations: I am passionate about energy industry in general,after all it is what powers the world. I specialised in Oil&Gas business but have now been involved in renewable energy for almost five years. I am thrilled to do my further research in energy, but focusing on cleaner, greener and more sustainable energy sources, technologies to  reuse waste or abundant materials in production of energy while controlling GHG emissions. I am concerned about the environmental sustainability vs secure energy supply as well as biotechnology facilitating such developments.

Challenges:  It is surprising sometimes to see how regulation can hinder the progress in the industry. In many cases it is difficult for tech developers to progress to commercial phase or upscale, either due to lack of investment or due to regulatory challenges. There should be smaller gap between research and the markets