Wood pellet technology in Europe

According to a report around 44 percent of all German wood pellets heating systems are found in Bavaria, with a further 19 percent installed in Baden-Württemberg. This is as per statistics from the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) which approves grant applications for pellets heating systems.The pellets are extremely dense and can be produced with a low humidity content (below 10%) that allows them to be burned with a very high combustion efficiency. Further, their regular geometry and small size allow automatic feeding with very fine calibration. They can be fed to a burner by auger feeding or by pneumatic conveying. Their high density also permits compact storage and rational transport over long distance. The market for wood pellets is currently experiencing strong international growth. For investors, producers and service providers, this opens up a wide range of opportunities, but also challenges. Currently the situation in the international pellets markets is very dynamic, new technologies are in demand worldwide, making high quality market information important for investment decisions. There is an increasing number of wood pellet manufacturers in Germany. In fact pellet-burning appliances are simpler to operate and more convenient than other wood-burning appliances. They are almost as easy to use as gas, oil, or electric heaters. According to current statistics from the organizer of the Interpellets 2008 trade fair and the 8th Pellets Industry Forum, Solar Promotion GmbH, 48 companies will produce modern wood pellet fuel at 55 sites this year. There are offer for investing in wood pellet projects in Ukraine by purchasing used machinery for manufacturing pellets from wood or saw dust . The machinery will give a production cost of 40 Euro per 1000 kg of pellets.