On 13th June 2023, the Hungarian BIKE Partners (AKI Nonprofit Ltd. in partnership with Discovery Center Nonprofit Ltd.) organized a national BIKE Open Lab in Hungary (in Nagylók and Szabadegyháza). The theme of the Open Lab was to showcase “Opportunities and good practices for sustainable biomass production and processing”.
The event took place in two consecutive stations of the biofuel value chain with the first phase on a farm and the second phase in a bioethanol factory and attracted stakeholders from across the entire biofuel value chain (including farmers, policymakers, scientists, and other market players).
The first part of the Open lab saw a series of presentations from AKI and Discovery, highlighting the results and good practices emerging from the BIKE experience and how this can find applications in Hungary.
Afterward, the participants visited the Hungrana Starch and Isosugar Manufacturing and Trading Ltd. (Hungrana Kft.) company site where Izabella Bakó, ISCC auditor (Bureau Veritas Magyarország Kft.) presented how ISCC certifies farmers under the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification Scheme (ISCC-EU) sustainability criteria – highlighting special information for farmers on the audit process.
Finally, Dr. Szabolcs Magyar and Krisztián Juhász, technical and production directors of Hungrana Kft. presented the company’s various production processes from corn as feedstock to native corn starch, sugar products, and bioethanol, a dehydrated alcohol specifically used in fuels.
Bioethanol produced by Hungrana Kft. has a GHG emission savings rate of well above the EU average, over 80% compared to motor gasoline, making it increasingly preferred on the European market. The event ended with a guided tour of the factory, where the participants were able to see the production facilities in operation as well as some of the products.
Original posts: In english and hungarian
