Centro Nacional de Energías Renovables
The National Renewable Energy Centre (CENER) is a technology centre specialized in applied research, and the development and promotion of renewable energies. It is highly rated and has acknowledged national and international prestige. CENER, as a foundation, is an organization destined to support renewable energies sector competitiveness in order to help companies to reach their R&D needs. It offers high added value services and activities and transferring technology by means of a cutting-edge technological infrastructure, with the most modern laboratories and facilities in Europe. The staffs are approx. 200 people, where around 80% is technical organized in 6 Technical Departments: Wind Energy, Photovoltaic, Solar Thermal, Energy Building, Grid Energy Integration and Biomass Energy.
CENER´s Biomass Energy Department is composed of a multidisciplinary staff, over 20 people, some of them with more than ten years’ experience in the Bioenergy Sector and specific knowledge in biology, chemistry, agronomy and chemical engineering. This department comprises two activity areas: Thermochemical Applications Service and Biofuels and Resources Evaluation Service. The first deals with topics related to thermochemical conversion of biomass (mainly torrefaction and gasification) and the second one with activities related to biomass resources assessment and energy crops, biochemical conversion processes and sustainability assessment (energy and GHG emissions balances).There is also a full equipped laboratory with specific areas dedicated to: chemical processes, microbiology, fermentation processes and analytical techniques. The gasification unit is a pilot plant with a nominal power of 2 MWth capable of generating a fuel gas suitable for the following cleaning and synthesis processes of 2nd generation biofuels.
