26/02/03
Q&A: China needs to redefine biomass fuels for import
Singapore, 3 February (Argus) — China's potential as a key biomass market in
Asia hinges on the review of regulations that ban the import of solid waste into
the country. The country has around 46GW of installed biomass power capacity.
Standards and definitions for biomass fuel must be established before China can
begin importing shipments into the country, executive deputy secretary-general
at Biomass Energy Industry Promotion Association Liu Hongrong said on the
sidelines of the Argus Biomass Asia Conference 2026. Could you share an overview
of current biomass consumption in China? Currently, China's biomass consumption
is already at an enormous scale. By the end of 2024, our installed capacity for
biomass power generation hit 45.99 GW, and biomass-generated electricity output
stood at 208.3 kWh. These make up the bulk of biomass energy consumption in
China. In non-power sectors, biomass is also used for clean heating, biomethane
and bio-liquid fuel. For these applications, the heat supply from biomass is
approximately 489mn GJ, and biomethane output has reached 480mn m³. These are
also the primary channels for biomass utilisation in non-power fields. What are
the main types of biomass fuels utilised for power generation in the country?
Are there any new emerging types of biomass? The power generation sector mainly
relies on agricultural and forestry waste, municipal solid waste, and biogas or
biomethane. From what I can see currently, there have not been any new types of
biomass emerging yet. But traditional biomass feedstocks are undergoing
continuous upgrading and development. For instance, loose agricultural and
forestry residues are being processed into pellet fuels for utilisation. Has
there been any progress on updating existing regulations to allow for the import
of biomass into China? When it comes to biomass imports, China's laws are very
clear on this — there is an outright ban on solid waste imports. Thus, any
possibility of opening biomass imports must be based on clearly defining these
products as renewable resources or environmentally friendly fuels, rather than
solid waste. Currently, in line with the Implementation Opinions on Expanding
Green Trade issued by China's commerce ministry in 2025, we can see that the
policy sphere has signalled its encouragement for the import of high-quality
renewable resources. I believe the top priority before any such feedstock
imports can proceed is to build a standardised system for compliant biomass
feedstocks — only then can we make real progress on biomass imports in China.
What is your view on discussions between Russia and China on lifting pellet
import restrictions? The discussions between China and Russia are exactly a
concrete practical case of the aforementioned policy shift. The core
significance lies in verifying whether we can successfully classify biomass
pellets as environmentally friendly fuels by establishing mutually recognised
product standards, and in turn circumvent the solid waste import ban. Right now,
what we've observed is not that biomass imports have been opened, but that the
key procedures for setting these standards have already been launched. Any
future progress will be predicated on the official approval and implementation
of these product standards — that is the defining precursor for all subsequent
developments. Do you see any potential for China to become a major exporter of
biomass to other markets? China's potential to become a major biomass fuel
exporter lies in high value-added sustainable biofuels, like sustainable
aviation fuel (SAF) and biomethanol. This potential is closely tied to
innovations in trade policy. The key bottleneck right now is our import and
export policy. These green products fall under the regulatory regime for refined
oil exports, they can't be separately categorised because we lack independent
tariff codes for them. But breakthroughs are already taking place. SAF has
achieved compliant exports via the "white list" system, and it has been assigned
its own exclusive tariff code starting in 2026. In contrast, biomethanol exports
still need to resolve the issue of securing an independent tariff code. So, this
process is in essence an innovation in the rules of green trade. The experience
of SAF here shows that with precise policy design, China is moving from being a
potential supplier to a key actual provider of green fuels for the global
market. What will be needed for biomass to become a significant source of energy
in China? To make biomass energy an important energy source for China, I believe
the core is to shift from a "waste disposal" model to a "strategic green energy
industry". We can work towards this goal in roughly five key areas. 1）Position
upgrading: It needs to be clearly elevated from a role focused on solid waste
utilisation to a strategic emerging industry. One that safeguards energy
security and supports the dual carbon goals. 2）Driving force upgrading: The
driving force for development should shift from relying on fiscal subsidies to
leveraging market-based mechanisms. These include the carbon market, green power
trading and zero-carbon energy certificates. This way, we can fully realise the
green value of biomass energy. 3）Industrial upgrading: We need to overcome key
bottlenecks. Such as the high costs of biomass feedstock collection,
transportation and storage, and the low economic efficiency of conversion
technologies. We should build an efficient and stable industrial supply chain,
and shift from a single output of power and heat generation to diversified high
value-added outputs. These outputs cover power, heat, gas, fuels and materials.
4）Application scenario upgrading: Application scenarios should expand beyond
traditional power generation and heating. We need to focus on expanding into
hard-to-electrify transportation and industrial sectors, like SAF and green
methanol. This will enable the large-scale substitution of fossil fuels.
5）Regulatory upgrading: We need to establish an independent and transparent
system of product standards, accounting, certification and trade rules. This
addresses the issue of green identity verification and allows biomass energy to
integrate into the domestic and international mainstream markets. In summary,
the fundamental prerequisite is to drive the biomass energy industry to complete
a profound transformation from a "waste disposal terminal" to a "modern
industry". When the five pillars of resources, policies, technologies, markets
and standards are established in a co-ordinated manner, its status as an
important energy source will be naturally consolidated. By Nadhir Mokhtar Send
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