Georgia Tech and U.S. Endowment map new biomass markets for forest residues

By AI, Created 3:51 PM UTC, June 04, 2026, /AGP/ – The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities and Georgia Tech have finished a two-semester study that tests where underused wood fiber could support biomass power, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. The project aims to give rural communities, investors and policymakers a faster way to judge replacement markets after pulp and paper mill closures.

Why it matters: - More than 40 pulp and paper mills have closed since 2015, removing an estimated 60 million tons of annual wood-fiber demand from forest regions nationwide. - The Southeast alone needs new markets for about 43 million tons of underutilized and residual wood each year. - When that fiber has no market, landowners have less incentive to thin and manage forests, which can raise wildfire risk, weaken forest health and contribute to land-use change. - The study is meant to help communities, investors and policymakers identify replacement markets faster after mill closures.

What happened: - The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities and the Georgia Institute of Technology completed a two-semester research project. - Georgia Tech’s Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory built a prototype decision-support tool for forestry residues. - The model tests whether underutilized forestry and mill residues can be converted into biomass power, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. - The team presented the findings last month to ASDL’s External Advisory Board meeting and program review, along with Endowment leaders, industry representatives and other stakeholders.

The details: - The tool lets users test feedstock supply, plant location, transportation, financing assumptions, market prices and policy incentives. - The model combines techno-economic analysis with a systems-of-systems approach. - Users can compare jobs, emissions, capital costs, operating costs and project economics in real time. - Under modeled scenarios, biomass power showed the strongest near-term potential because it generally needs lower capital investment than liquid fuel production and can use a broader range of feedstocks. - Renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel showed long-term promise, but those options were more sensitive to fuel prices, financing assumptions and policy support. - Dr. Dimitri Mavris said policy incentives are critical to unlocking the potential of these residues, while biomass power currently shows greater near-term viability than sustainable aviation fuel. - Stakeholders asked for refinements in the next phase, including residue purchase prices, truck turnaround times, maintenance outages, utility purchasing rules, moisture assumptions, state-by-state policy differences, rail access, urban wood waste and the role of pulpwood in making forest treatments economically viable.

Between the lines: - The research points to biomass power as the quickest market pathway for residues, while liquid fuels may depend more heavily on policy and financing conditions. - The tool also reflects a broader shift in forest-sector planning, where site-specific economics matter as much as feedstock availability. - The work gives rural communities a way to compare options before committing capital to a new facility.

What’s next: - The current model focuses on Georgia. - The team plans to expand the tool nationwide in the next phase. - The next version will allow custom site testing, improve feedstock and chemical modeling, add carbon capture scenarios and calibrate results against operating facilities. - The project is one of roughly 50 Grand Challenge projects run in parallel by ASDL. - More information is available at the Endowment’s website.