Updated Local Assessment of Sustainable and Incentivised Biomass Potential in Italy for Bioenergy Applications

This study presents an updated assessment of sustainable biomass availability in Italy, with particular focus on feedstocks eligible for incentives under the Renewable Energy Directive III (RED III) and the Italian FER 2 Decree (Ministerial Decree of 19 June 2024). A bottom-up methodology integrating official databases (Eurostat, ISTAT, ISPRA, SIAN, VetInfo, CONOE) and georeferenced estimation approaches was applied to quantify theoretical and technical biomass potentials for over 20 feedstock types at national and sub-regional scale. For each feedstock, the production potential of advanced biofuels (biomethane, bio-methanol, bioethanol, and FAME) was assessed using commercially mature technologies (TRL = 7). Results show that Northern Italy concentrates the highest biomass availability, while the South presents a relevant contribution from agro-industrial by-products. The geographic distribution of bioenergy potentials varies significantly depending on the energy vector, highlighting territorial complementarities useful for planning local bioenergy supply chains.