  Meeting the defined greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets in Germany is only
possible by switching to renewable technologies in the energy sector. A major
share of that reduction needs to be covered by the heat sector, which accounts
for ~35% of the energy based emissions in Germany. Biomass is the renewable key
player in the heterogeneous heat sector today. Its properties such as weather
independency, simple storage and flexible utilization open up a wide field of
applications for biomass. However, in a future heat sector fulfilling GHG
reduction targets and energy sectors being increasingly connected: which
bioenergy technology concepts are competitive options against other renewable
heating systems? In this paper, the cost optimal allocation of the limited
German biomass potential is investigated under longterm scenarios using a
mathematical optimization approach. The model results show that bioenergy can
be a competitive option in the future. Especially the use of biomass from
residues can be highly competitive in hybrid combined heat and power (CHP)
pellet combustion plants in the private household sector. However, towards
2050, wood based biomass use in high temperature industry applications is found
to be the most cost efficient way to reduce heat based emissions by 95% in
2050.
