The Business of Bioenergy Podcast
Episode 2: The Global Bioenergy Landscape: Focus on Asia & Africa
About this episode
Listen now
Bioenergy demand is rising globally, but not all regions are created equal. In this episode, we explore the evolving global market for biomass like black pellets and what’s driving demand outside of North America and Europe. Our guest Maarten Gnoth shares the realities on the ground including local feedstocks, current infrastructure, and how logistics gaps affect uptake, especially in high-growth regions like Asia and Africa. Maarten shares an especially interesting example of his work helping the island of Mauritius transition to bioenergy.
Our discussion includes how power producers and industrial buyers are using pellets to meet decarbonization goals, the policies that help and hinder these developments, the infrastructure gaps (e.g., port access, storage capacity, logistics constraints), and other factors that shape who scales successfully and who gets left behind.
About the hosts
Jackie MacAllen
Jackie Guscott MacAllen is a communications strategist with nearly 20 years of experience helping industrial, science-driven companies tell their stories, shape public perception, and influence key stakeholders. She’s worked across the U.S., Europe, and Asia with global manufacturers and sustainability leaders, including through organizations that engage with the United Nations and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. With a background in corporate communications and lobbying, Jackie views technical innovation through the lens of external affairs, helping our podcast listeners understand the societal and commercial context underlying every conversation.
Corey Woolard
With 25 years of experience in diverse manufacturing environments, Corey has a proven track record of driving profits, productivity, business development, and team performance. Corey has held CEO positions in the bioenergy sector and served in executive and senior level roles for multiple international manufacturing companies. He is the CEO & Founder of Dynamic Opex, a consulting firm offering expertise in operational excellence, leadership development, and business optimization for the biofuels, chemicals and plastics industries.
Want more bioenergy?
If you enjoyed this episode with Maarten Gnoth, you’ll love our other content. We dive into everything from the policy landscape affecting the bioenergy industry (Episode 1 with Thomas Meth) to how industry leaders can control their own narrative (Episode 3 with Liz Woodworth).