As Southeast Asia accelerates its energy transition, industrial companies face increasing pressure to reduce carbon emissions without compromising steam reliability or cost competitiveness. At Boiler World SEA 2025, BECIS– Energy as a Service presented how biomass-based steam solutions, delivered through a Steam-as-a-Service model, can address both challenges simultaneously.
Rather than positioning biomass as a simple fuel switch, the session framed bioenergy as a fully integrated service solution, combining technology, fuel sourcing, operations, and financial structure into a long-term partnership tailored for industrial decarbonisation.
Bioenergy Steam as a Service: A New Operating Model
BECIS’s approach is built on the Energy as a Service (EaaS) concept, where customers outsource the complexity of energy infrastructure while benefiting from predictable costs and guaranteed performance.
Under the Steam-as-a-Service model, BECIS is responsible for investment and financing, engineering and construction, biomass sourcing and logistics, as well as ongoing operation, maintenance, and performance monitoring. This structure allows industrial customers to eliminate or significantly reduce capital expenditure while transferring fuel price volatility, operational risk, and asset performance responsibility to the service provider.
Biomass Versus Fossil Fuel Steam: Understanding the Economics
A key focus of the presentation was the cost comparison between biomass steam and fossil fuel-based steam. BECIS demonstrated that biomass steam is lower cost in most cases, with coal being the primary exception.
Typical biomass steam costs were presented in the range of 22–45 USD per ton of steam, depending on system configuration. In scenarios where biomass feedstock is available on-site, costs can fall below 20 USD per ton, significantly improving project economics.
The presentation emphasised that boiler configuration and utilisation are critical. Commercially viable boiler capacities typically range from 15–30 tons F&A, with 6 tons F&A generally considered the minimum viable scale. Optimal savings are achieved when boiler utilisation exceeds 70%, compared to typical industrial utilisation of around 50%. These parameters underline the importance of aligning biomass solutions with both current and future steam demand.
Fuel Sourcing: The Largest Cost Driver
Unlike fossil fuels, biomass economics are heavily influenced by logistics. The session highlighted that transportation can account for 50–70% of total biomass cost, making local sourcing essential.
For each project, BECIS conducts a detailed feedstock assessment covering availability and long-term reliability, calorific value, feedstock cost, ash volume, and distance from source to customer site. Typical sourcing radii range from 50 to 200 km, prioritising long-term partnerships with rice mills, wood mills, and agricultural processors. Where required, densification solutions such as rice husk baling or wood chipping are deployed to improve transport efficiency and reduce emissions.
Biomass System Design and Plant Layout
The presentation outlined a standard biomass boiler island layout designed specifically for industrial environments.
Core elements include fully enclosed biomass storage warehouses, fuel conveying and handling systems, a biomass boiler house, flue-gas treatment systems, and ash handling infrastructure. Key equipment, including moving floors, screw and chain conveyors, combustion grates, induced-draft fans, and chimneys, is integrated under a fully automated control system, ensuring stable operation, safety, and environmental compliance.
Technical Flexibility Beyond Steam
BECIS also highlighted the technical flexibility of biomass energy systems, which can support multiple energy outputs from a single platform. In addition to direct process steam, systems can be configured for power generation via steam turbines, cooling through absorption chillers, and integration with biogas and anaerobic digestion systems. This flexibility enables biomass projects to align with broader energy efficiency, electrification, and circular economy strategies within industrial facilities.
Circular Economy and Sustainability Benefits
Beyond emissions reduction, biomass solutions contribute to circular economy outcomes. BECIS sources only certified agricultural and wood waste, avoiding primary forests, food-grade biomass, and dedicated energy crops. Ash generated from biomass combustion is managed under structured ash management plans and reused in agriculture, cement and brick manufacturing, or as fertiliser raw material, supporting the objective of zero-waste operations.
Proven Track Record Across Asia
The presentation showcased 13 bioenergy projects across Asia, spanning Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, and the Philippines. These projects serve sectors including food and beverage, FMCG, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing, with boiler capacities ranging from 6 to 25 tons per hour of steam. The breadth of operational references demonstrates the scalability and adaptability of the biomass Steam-as-a-Service model.
Conclusion
Biomass boilers alone do not guarantee decarbonisation success. As demonstrated by BECIS, effective outcomes come from integrating technology, fuel sourcing, and commercial structure into a single service solution. When correctly configured, biomass Steam-as-a-Service enables industrial customers to reduce emissions, stabilise energy costs, and transition confidently toward net-zero targets, without sacrificing reliability or operational focus.
Author:
Mr Ugo Siegfried Bernal
Commercial Strategy Director
BECIS, Thailand
