Green Carbon, Real Impact: Recarbonizing Industry with Biomass-Derived Syngas

Executive Summary

While the electrification of many industrial sectors is accelerating the energy transition, it is not a silver bullet that will get us to net-zero economies.  From aviation to cement, industries reliant on fossil based-carbon need a sustainable substitute—not just to meet climate targets but to remain competitive. In these industries, decarbonization should not be the goal, but recarbonization with a sustainable substitute. That substitute is green syngas: a flexible, biomass-derived mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. This article explores how syngas can power a new era of industrial recarbonization. We examine its feedstocks, conversion technologies, technical barriers, and real-world use cases—along with what it will take to scale this solution. For stakeholders across the bioeconomy, green syngas offers more than a molecule—it offers a market.

The Decarbonization Dilemma in Industry

Hard-to-electrify industries need green carbon. While electrification using renewables is driving the energy transition, it is not suitable for all use cases. High temperature industries, such as steel and cement, rely on direct fuel combustion and electrification solutions are immature or impractical. Further, in energy dense applications like aviation and maritime fuels the use of batteries fails due to weight and volumetric limitations. Therefore, for the foreseeable future, electrification will not be an option for many sectors that contribute significantly to carbon emissions. To meet decarbonization goals, replacing fossil-based carbons with green carbon is a lot more practical.

The Role of Syngas

Green syngas is a highly flexible, globally available resource that can drive the replacement of fossil carbon in multiple industries. Syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, is produced from biomass sources typically via gasification or pyrolysis technologies. Once produced, green syngas can be upgraded by one of four major processes (Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis, Water-Gas Shift, Synthesis, and Methanation) to produce a variety of products, including: aviation and marine fuels, hydrogen, renewable natural gas, and green chemicals. The versatility of syngas is a tremendous commercial advantage as it provides many potential end-product markets. Syngas should be regarded as a single commodity, but rather a platform technology that allows for customization depending on market demand and regulatory incentives.

Simplified Syngas Process, Source: Scholarly Community Encyclopedia

Sources of Biomass

Syngas is valuable because it unlocks value from waste biomass. Broadly speaking, biomass is organic matter than can be used as a fuel. Popular sources of biomass include forestry and agricultural waste, animal waste, sewage, and municipal solid waste. Biomass is present world-wide in both rural and urban environments, making it a highly available feedstock. Traditionally biomass has been a viewed as a problem, as it needed to be collected and disposed in many cases. Syngas flips this paradigm on its head by providing a valuable use for these sources of waste. Further, this upgrading of biomass can support public policy goals such as landfill diversion, and creation of jobs in rural communities.

Sources of Biomass, Biomass as an Alternative for Gas Production (Canepa and Gonzalez, 2017)

Conversion Technology Overview

Biomass gasification is the technical pathway to producing valuable syngas from waste biomass. First, the biomass is pretreated, which includes drying the biomass and sizing it to achieve greater uniformity of the biomass. The dried biomass is then gasified in a reactor with oxygen and steam, typically in the 600 to 1200^oC range to produce syngas. Depending on the completeness of the gasification, other products like bio-oil and biochar may be produced. If the gasification is incomplete, upgrading will occur to remove things like tars, particles, and inorganics. The purified syngas can then be upgraded into many valuable products, such as hydrogen, methanol, and Fischer-Tropsch fuels.

Source, Brandin, et al., 2015

Addressing Technical Challenges

There are several types of gasification technologies including fluidized-bed, entrained flow, and fixed bed with different temperature and pressure conditions. Several gasification technologies have already been proven at commercial scale and have been deployed in small to medium combined heat and power (CHP) systems. The use of biomass to produce the upgraded chemicals has largely been done at pilot and demonstration scale, though initial commercial plants for these products are underway.

Like many technologies, there are challenges associated with biomass gasification. First the biomass must be pre-processed prior to gasification. There are naturally occurring variations in things like particle size and moisture content that must be homogenized to achieve maximum yields. Processes to standardize biomass, like sizing and drying can be energy intensive. Further, the syngas must be cleaned up before use to remove impurities like tars and metals. Impure syngas can poison catalysts in further processing steps, hurting economics. Additionally, tars can accumulate over time, necessitating frequent cleaning of reactors that can result in frequent downtime for equipment. High temperature gasification methods, like plasma-arc, can offer complete conversion, reducing the impact of these issues. However, such technologies are still under development. Technical advancements and learning by doing will be needed to reduce conversion costs over time.

Status of Different Gasification Types, Source: LEC Analysis

From Molecule to Market: Syngas Use Cases

Recently, moves to decarbonize economies has catalyzed many use cases where syngas derivatives can be used effectively. The demand for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is growing. The EU’s “Fit for 55” requires 2% SAF usage in 2025, growing to 50% by 2050. With limited availability of waste oils, biomass to jet pathways should grow in importance in coming years. The maritime industry too, is making strides in decarbonization. The international maritime organization (IMO) has set a goal of a 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. The international shipping giant, Maersk, launched its first methanol powered ship in 2023 and seeks to be at net-zero emissions by 2040. Finally, green hydrogen demand is growing globally. 58 countries globally have produced hydrogen strategies/roadmaps with a mix of goals, requirements and incentives to increase the amount of clean hydrogen available. While many of these programs are electrolysis-focused, biomass-based hydrogen also meets most goals for carbon reduction in these programs.

Investment & Commercialization Outlook

As with any other emerging technology, the development of syngas presents challenges, but also opportunities. Companies entering the space will need to deal with the normal tests of scaling up to commercial scale, and the CAPEX associated with first of its kind technologies. Yet, there is also reason to believe that the pull from markets looking for low carbon products will create the basis for the industry moving forward.

There are multiple developing projects involving syngas production that are developing globally. For example, Haffner Energy has announced a biomass to hydrogen plant in Marolles, France expected to be commissioned by July, 2026. While Elyse Energy has announced its BioTJet project to produce 110,000 tonnes of e-fuels from end-of-life waste wood by 2029. Overall, the overall growth of the global syngas market is expected to reach USD $731B by 2031 with a CAGR of 11.3%, providing significant opportunities for companies working in the space.

Challenges and Opportunities for Commercial Syngas Products. Source: LEC Analysis

📊 Ready to Dig Deeper? View the companion slide deck to explore visual breakdowns of green syngas pathways, market forecasts, and investment-ready opportunities—all backed by LEC Partners’ real-world project insights.  [Access the Presentation]

Conclusion: Why Syngas Matters Now

As the global push to decarbonization intensifies, syngas is ready to play a significant role. Electrification can address several issues, but key industries will continue to rely on carbon-based fuels. Fortunately, syngas allows for recarbonization, replacing fossil-carbons with renewable sources of biomass. Biomass is globally available in large quantities and can be unlocked by conversion to syngas.  Syngas enables the production of key chemicals like methanol, hydrogen, and Fischer-Tropsch fuels, which can address hard to abate sectors like aviation, maritime shipping, and steel manufacturing. The importance of syngas in reaching net-zero has begun and will only increase in the coming years.

LEC has over a dozen experts, globally positioned with deep expertise in biomass gasification, including in biomass feedstock logistics, feedstock separation and pre-processing, and process technologies and project engineering for syngas manufacturing. LEC also offers its clients specialized solutions, including owner-engineers’ services and regulatory and market analysis for syngas products such as SAF and hydrogen.

About the Authors

Dr. Qi Chen is a consultant for LEC Partners in the energy, oil & gas, and chemicals space. Specifically focused on hydrogen and syngas, he has previously worked in R&D, demonstration, and deployment of process technologies, as well project conceptualization, development and execution.

Pete Rocha is Practice Lead for Low Carbon Hydrogen and Project Director for LEC Partners in the energy and biofuels space. Specifically focused on hydrogen and its derivatives, Pete has previously founded a hydrogen technology company focused on solid-oxide cell technology and is a commercial advisor to a start-up hydrogen storage company.