  Bioenergy is currently a major renewable energy source in Europe but faces an
unclear future because of conflicting modelling results and the lack of
long-term policy. This paper identifies three challenges and potential
opportunities by reviewing bioenergy historical national deployment, current
policy support, and possible future roles in Europe. The first challenge is on
the supply side. Analysing the supply-consumption dynamics and import
dependency of EU bioenergy, we find that the security of bioenergy supply is
challenging for liquid biofuels and those countries with the highest per-capita
bioenergy consumption in Europe. Second, the definition of sustainable
bioenergy in modelling studies is sometimes inconsistent with how EU policies
label it. Third, on the demand side, there are unique but competing uses for
bioenergy without a clear long-term strategy in Europe. We conclude with three
opportunities to tackle these challenges for future research. First, utilising
the untapped bioenergy potential with low environmental impacts could improve
supply security. A clear and harmonised definition of sustainable bioenergy
could better convey modelling results to policymaking. Finally, understanding
where best to use limited sustainable bioenergy supply through sector-coupled
energy system models can provide direction for a clearer EU bioenergy strategy
towards 2050.
