6 October 2026 - SAF Forum & Flamenco Welcome Dinner
7-8 October 2026 - World Ethanol & Biofuels Conference
9 October 2026 - Spanish Open (Golf Open de España)
Hotel Riu Plaza España, Madrid, Spain
Pre-conference Events - CET (Central European Time, GMT+01:00)
A strategic opening address that frames the current state of the aviation industry, highlights emerging market dynamics reshaping the sector, and sets the tone for critical conversations on sustainable growth, innovation, and the competitive landscape ahead.
- Sergio Nuñez - Managing Director, 8020 EDGE and former Global Head of Sustainability, Shell
A strategic overview of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from the airline industry's viewpoint, examining adoption challenges, scalability requirements, and the critical role of SAF in achieving net-zero aviation targets. This keynote addresses supply chain development, cost competitiveness, regulatory frameworks, and collaborative pathways needed to accelerate SAF deployment across global aviation operations.
Charting the trajectory from ambition to action: a critical analysis of SAF market economics, supply chain realities, and the strategic pathways required to bridge the gap between today's aviation emissions and the industry's 2030 decarbonization commitments.
- Sergio Nuñez - Managing Director, 8020 EDGE and former Global Head of Sustainability, Shell
- Cost-effectiveness of the EU SAF mandate: concerns and feedback
- What has worked in driving SAF production and integration into aviation
- The mismatch between regulatory expectations and the current pace of SAF adoption, including supply shortages and cost barriers
- Challenges in global implementation and enforcement of SAF mandates
- How can regulators and industry stakeholders close the gap between policy goals and the practical realities of SAF adoption?
- Elvis Ebikade - Sustainable Fuels Expert, Southwest Airlines
- Ioan Bucuras - Deputy Director – Spain, Transport & Environment
- Sergio Nuñez - Managing Director, 8020 EDGE and former Global Head of Sustainability, Shell
A look at the price action and market responses in First Generation Biofuel Feedstocks & Fossil Fuels
- Eddie Tofpik - Head of Technical Analysis & Senior Markets Analyst, ADM
Exposing the controversial intersection of land use, unintended emissions, and regulatory pressure—where well-intentioned biofuels could inadvertently accelerate deforestation and food insecurity, challenging the industry to distinguish truly sustainable solutions from green mirages.
- Glauco Bertoldo - Agricultural Attaché, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Mission of Brazil to the European Union
As waste-based biodiesel emerges as a critical decarbonization tool, competition intensifies across transport sectors. This session examines the regulatory frameworks, economic incentives, and feedstock allocation challenges that determine whether road, aviation, and maritime industries can equitably access limited waste resources—or if policy imbalances will create winners and losers in the race to net zero.
- Dasa Mamrillova - Government Affairs Director of the European Waste-based & Advanced Biofuels Association, EWABA
Europe's evolving carbon pricing architecture is reshaping industrial competitiveness and trade dynamics. This session decodes the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), the groundbreaking Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) designed to prevent carbon leakage, and the new EU ETS 2 extending carbon pricing to buildings and road transport—exploring how these interconnected mechanisms drive decarbonization, impact global supply chains, and redefine the cost of doing business in a carbon-constrained world.
- Valentina Stekovic - Senior Sustainability Advisor, AFS Energy
Key insights, critical challenges, and actionable next steps for scaling Sustainable Aviation Fuel and accelerating aviation decarbonization.
- Sergio Nuñez - Managing Director, 8020 EDGE and former Global Head of Sustainability, Shell
Highlighting the workshop's focus on breakthrough technologies, advanced feedstocks, and sustainability practices essential for scaling biofuels in the energy transition.
- Joe Ward - Executive Director, Distillers Grains Technology Council
Exploring advanced fermentation technologies that enhance ethanol production efficiency while maximizing the value of by-products. This session examines novel microbial strains, process optimization strategies, and co-product diversification approaches that improve sustainability, reduce waste, and create new revenue streams from distillers grains and other fermentation outputs.
- Joe Ward - Executive Director, Distillers Grains Technology Council
Examining cutting-edge technologies that transform organic and industrial waste streams into valuable biofuels. This session explores advanced conversion processes including anaerobic digestion, gasification, and pyrolysis, highlighting how waste-to-energy innovations reduce landfill dependency, lower carbon emissions, and create circular economy solutions for sustainable fuel production.
This talk reframes biofuel sustainability by grounding it in robust livestock LCA evidence, with a focus on poultry systems. It first demonstrates why “low‑LUC” soya still carries significant environmental burdens when full system impacts are considered. It then explores Europe’s structural dependence on imported protein and the need for viable alternatives. Using poultry as a high-efficiency model species, the talk presents how cumulative efficiency gains—feed conversion, growth rates, and co-product utilisation—reshape carbon outcomes. A case study on bioethanol-derived protein illustrates how substituting soya can deliver system-wide benefits. The talk concludes by arguing for integrated, consequence-aware carbon accounting in biomass sustainability claims.
- Emily Burton - Professor in Sustainable Food Production,, Nottingham Trent University
- Joe Ward - Executive Director, Distillers Grains Technology Council