Jean-Marc Jossart delivering a keynote at the European Pellet Forum
Held during Progetto Fuoco at Veronafiere (Verona), the European Pellet Forum 2026 gathered producers, traders, technology providers and analysts for a concentrated morning of market data, supply-chain insights and regulatory updates. The event, organised by AIEL (Italian Agroforestry Energy Association) in collaboration with the European Pellet Council (EPC) and Bioenergy Europe, formed part of the wider Progetto Fuoco trade fair program.
Bioenergy Europe contributed across three of the agenda’s backbone sessions:
Irene di Padua at the European Pellet Forum presenting on EU Policy
Rather than treating market and policy as separate tracks, the Forum repeatedly circled back to how they intersect in practice.
The morning paired the European outlook presented by Manolis Karampinis with an Italy-focused deep dive led by Matteo Favero (AIEL) on how the national market is developing, followed by analysis from Gilles Gauthier (Hawkins Wright) on how industrial pellet dynamics could (eventually) spill over into the domestic segment.
Speakers moved from headline trade flows to concrete supply-side perspectives: Jose Carlos Haas Junior (Haas Madeiras) and Daniela Espinoza Navarrete (ACHBIOM, Chilean Biomass Association) provided insights on the Brazilian and Chilean pellet markets, respectively and their increasing interactions with Europe and Italy. On the other side of the supply chain, Diego Benedetti (EOS, European Organisation of the Sawmill Industry) discussed the latest data and trends in the European sawmilling industry and their impact on the availability of sawdust as a raw material for wood pellet production.
The key-challenges segment tackled issues that directly shape market confidence and fair competition: Paolo Liedholm (LCA Studio Legale) addressed intra-EU VAT fraud risks, Martin Englisch (BEA Institute for Bioenergy) explored shifting consumer expectations regarding wood pellets made from broadleaf wood. Finally, Didzis Palejs (LATbio, Latvia Biomass Association) discussed the importance of ENplus® for the European residential wood pellet markets, as well as the reasons it is a unique scheme: its industry-driven technical development and the finance it provides for united industry representation, promotion and defence.
The final block connected fuel markets to what ultimately drives household demand: appliance sales, innovation and regulation. Alongside Bioenergy Europe’s market update, Annalisa Paniz (AIEL) led the discussion on the direction of the Italian pellet appliances market.
The closing panel broadened the lens beyond forecasts, bringing operational and manufacturing viewpoints together, with speakers including Riccardo Zanette (MCZ Group), Stefano Lanciotti (Windhager Italy), Nicole Florian (Florian Group), Maurizio Annovati (Alpinpellet), Pietro Di Sarno (Green Alliance) and Alessandro Pretolani (Adriacoke Commodities), moderated by Matteo Favero (AIEL).
Manolis Karampinis presenting about European pellet market trends at the European Pellet Forum
Across the sessions, one message came through clearly: pellet markets are being shaped as much by implementation details as by supply and demand. With sustainability requirements, product rules and enforcement increasingly influencing business decisions, the European Pellet Forum in Verona reinforced the need to align market integrity, workable regulation, and technology deployment as renewable heat scales up across Europe.
Beyond the European Pellet Forum, Bioenergy Europe also contributed to the wider Progetto Fuoco program in Verona. Ileana Repaci presented the latest on the revision of Ecodesign and Energy Labelling rules for solid biomass heating, with a particular focus on solid fuel local space heaters, explaining why the update matters for the sector and for the future of renewable heating in the EU, how Bioenergy Europe has been engaged throughout the process, and on the next steps.
Ileana Repaci presenting the latest revision of Ecodesign and Energy Labelling at Progetto Fuoco
The ENplus® certification team was also on site throughout the fair, welcoming visitors at its booth and discussing quality assurance and market confidence for pellets.
Diandra Velica at the ENplus booth at Progetto Fuoco
Keeping with the practice of alternating hosting countries, Manolis Karampinis announced that the next edition will take place in September 2027 in Valladolid, Spain, under the organisation of AVEBIOM (Spanish Biomass Association) and within the Expobiomasa trade fair.
