Venice 2024. Post event report by Marco Ritzkowski

The 10th edition of the Venice – International Symposium on Energy from Biomass and Waste was held from 25th to 27th November 2024 at the Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. This 10th edition of brought together 214 delegates coming from all around the world, representing 36 different countries. The largest delegation came from South Korea (39 attendees), followed by Italy, China, Japan, Germany. The programme included more than 130 scientific presentations organised in 3 parallel tracks of oral sessions, workshops and posters, lively social events and outstanding networking opportunities.
As per tradition, the symposium included 4 Focus Sessions, moderated by different Symposium Chairs with focal points on current issues of energy from biomass and waste. A special guest in the first focus session on Artificial Intelligence and waste to energy was Prof. Arti Intel, who answered the questions of some of the best-known experts in the field. It turns out that the artificial intelligence (AI) could provide very reasonable answers on multiple aspects. However, diving deeper into the topics it became obvious that AI certainly has limitations and, maybe even more remarkable, tends to change its opinion in the course of discussions and dialogues. The other, all very well attended, Focus Sessions dealt with the issues of biogenic waste incineration, the interaction between energy and circular economy as well as the potential role of carbon capture as a tool to decarbonize the waste system.

All in all, the sessions focusing on biological treatment slightly dominated the symposium program which also shows that in this field there is still a substantial need for further research and development as well as optimization. On the other hand, the role of thermal treatment in waste and resource management systems is getting more and more complex. Originally developed as a means for sanitation and public health improvement, the focus changed to waste volume and mass reduction combined with inertization, via energy and heat production towards the provision of carbon for different purposes. All these aspects have been presented and discussed in a total of 8 sessions and workshops on this topic.

The framework of the symposium which was organized for the tenth time was the beautiful setting of Venice during the pre-Christmas season, combined with several social events organized by the symposium team. The delegates enjoyed a prestigious selection of Italian wines during the wine tasting and welcome cocktail in the fantastic setting of Hotel Monaco, a traditional Bacaro tour with local guides and friends and a Gala Dinner in typical Venetian style which was certainly unforgettable.

To sum up, VENICE 2024 was an amazing event and both delegates and organizers are already looking very much forward to 2026, when the symposium will celebrate its 20 years of activities.

Dr. Marco Ritzkowski
IWWG Managing Director