Biofuels and Biochemicals workshop in Valencia

At the beginning of February, David accepted the kind invitation of Marcelo Domine (ITQ, Valencia, Spain) to deliver a lecture on perspectives of biofuels in a workshop under the auspices of EERA (European Energy Research Association), specifically the joint research program Bioenergy. The workshop entitled “Biofuels and Biochemicals: Initiatives and Perspectives” took place in Valencia on February 9^th 2023 and was attended by academic and industrial stakeholders.

Unsurprisingly, it was a great event with many excellent insightful talks and vivid interactions. The talks covered nicely the alternative pathways to produce different types of biofuels as well as the complete value chain from lignocellulosic biomass via important intermediates to final biofuels. Besides biofuels, the importance of chemicals derived from biomass was also addressed. David’s talk called “Advanced biofuels for future” covered the GreenCats research strategy and was very well received. The complementarity of the delivered presentations highlighted very interesting cooperation potential. Hopefully, this potential will materialize in near future in new collaborations. Importantly, the scientific meetings (no matter how exciting) are not only about science. Thus, there was time to meet with Agustín Martínez, an excellent friend and collaborator, over a dinner at the Valencian seaside and to enjoy the traditional cuisine. Although the trip was very intense - squeezed in less than 48 hours, it brought new ideas and opened up many future collaborative research opportunities. It was definitely worth it!