Technologies for Sustainable Biomass Supply—Overview of Market Offering

Abstract

This article introduces a collection of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), Internet of Things (IoT), and Industry 4.0 technologies utilized in (or applicable to) biomass supply chains that constitute the current state-of-the-art along with their brief descriptions. The scoping of technologies has been conducted by means of direct interactions with bioeconomy stakeholders and technology providers, analysis of the reports from bioeconomy-related projects, literature surveys, and internet searches. It is to highlight that technology mapping investigated here is focused on commercially available tools and services, which usually come with support, thus removing the necessity for expert knowledge or unusual technical proficiency. The list with over 100 items represents the current best knowledge of its creators and it is currently available through the ICT-BIOCHAIN project platform, serving as a database with technology descriptions and capability for updating the information. The ultimate objective of the database and the platform is to serve as a common point facilitating the cross-sectorial connection, where biomass stakeholders looking for new ICT, IoT, and Industry 4.0 solutions to make their work more efficient and sustainable can browse and filter out the records of their interest and obtain the contact information of the providers.

Blockchain Technology for Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A Systematic Literature Review and a Classification Framework

“…Blockchain is a costly storage medium, and hence the set of benefits it brings to the business should more than offset its overhead costs. Platforms like Ositrade and Agri Marketplace are targeting international implementations of "farm to fork" concept, which provides complete traceability together with also value added features like price transparency and automated contracts [183]. BCautoSCF has emerged as a successful player in supply chain financing by providing reliable and efficient financing platform for auto retail industry in China [184].…”

Agricultural biomass supply chain resilience: COVID-19 outbreak vs. sustainability compliance, technological change, uncertainties, and policies

“…Agricultural BSC has been a rather traditional and conservative sector ( Flak, 2020 ). The COVID-19 provides an opportunity to raise awareness of emerging technology solutions and facilitate the adoption of technologies that can increase the efficiency and resiliency of BSC.…”

“…Data analysis and management tools also play a significant role to keep a secure production level based on storage capacity and quality considering available resources ( Flak, 2020 ), especially during the uncertain condition of COVID-19. Quality control plays a very important role in different stages of the BSC.…”

“…GrainSense ( GrainSense, 2020 ) and Celignisrapid biomass analysis ( Monitoring, 2020 ) are examples that apply to quickly analyze such parameters for feedstock. Enterprise resource planning is another method used for decades that is suited to monitor agricultural production and have the potential to maximize the production level for BSC resilience ( Flak, 2020 ). There are some different technological tools used for different BSC production activities, such as ERPagro ( ERPagro, 2020 ); WinforstPro ( WinforstPro, 2020 ); Olivia ( Olivia, 2020 ); Solania ( Solania, 2020 ), and Berria ( Berria, 2020 ) for production planning, wood waste management and logistics, profit and sustainability of production.…”

Support of Advanced Technologies in Supply Chain Processes and Sustainability Impact

“…In general, there are no significant differences amongst the case studies in the number of technologies adopted, except for case 4 (Biomass energy). The result for case 4 is not expected since according to Flak [126] there are many advanced technologies identified in the ICT-BIOCHAIN project, such as ICT, Internet of Things (IoT), and Industry 4.0 technologies, that are utilized in biomass supply chains and constitute the current state-ofthe-art.…”