Extended EU-ETS etc Forest Resouirces
Country | Country Area km² | Forest Area km² | State Forest Area km² | Official EU Roundwood (m³/year) | Public Clusters | Private Clusters | Total Clusters | Biochar t/day |
| Austria | 83,879 | 39,000 | 10,023 | 20,031,000 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 780 |
| Belgium | 30,689 | 6,900 | 3,057 | 5,238,300 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 150 |
| Bulgaria | 110,994 | 38,900 | 33,765 | 4,405,000 | 23 | 3 | 26 | 780 |
| Croatia | 56,594 | 19,400 | 14,104 | 5,458,000 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 390 |
| Cyprus | 9,251 | 1,730 | 1,189 | 6,000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 30 |
| Czechia | 78,871 | 26,770 | 20,559 | 17,807,000 | 14 | 4 | 18 | 540 |
| Denmark | 42,952 | 6,270 | 1,486 | 3,842,100 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 120 |
| Estonia | 45,339 | 24,380 | 9,508 | 9,949,000 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 480 |
| Finland | 338,455 | 224,090 | 67,899 | 64,450,000 | 46 | 105 | 151 | 4,530 |
| France | 551,695 | 178,000 | 45,924 | 57,000,000 | 31 | 89 | 120 | 3,600 |
| Germany | 357,588 | 114,190 | 58,808 | 70,832,000 | 40 | 37 | 77 | 2,310 |
| Greece | 131,957 | 39,030 | 30,248 | 1,359,105 | 20 | 6 | 26 | 780 |
| Hungary | 93,030 | 20,530 | 11,866 | 5,516,000 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 420 |
| Iceland | 103,000 | 500 | 139 | 2,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ireland | 70,273 | 7,700 | 4,181 | 3,996,000 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 150 |
| Italy | 302,073 | 95,600 | 32,122 | 9,000,000 | 22 | 42 | 64 | 1,920 |
| Latvia | 64,589 | 34,110 | 16,850 | 16,050,000 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 690 |
| Lithuania | 65,300 | 22,000 | 13,970 | 7,655,000 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 450 |
| Luxembourg | 2,586 | 910 | 429 | 305,000 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 30 |
| Netherlands | 41,850 | 3,700 | 1,865 | 3,120,000 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 60 |
| Norway | 385,207 | 121,800 | 17,174 | 13,220,000 | 12 | 70 | 82 | 2,460 |
| Poland | 312,696 | 92,890 | 71,000 | 39,447,400 | 47 | 15 | 62 | 1,860 |
| Portugal | 92,225 | 33,100 | 530 | 14,583,000 | 0 | 22 | 22 | 660 |
| Romania | 238,398 | 69,300 | 46,916 | 16,112,000 | 32 | 15 | 47 | 1,410 |
| Slovakia | 49,035 | 19,500 | 9,867 | 8,536,000 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 390 |
| Slovenia | 20,273 | 11,800 | 2,738 | 4,738,000 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 240 |
| Spain | 505,990 | 185,600 | 54,566 | 18,834,000 | 37 | 88 | 125 | 3,750 |
| Sweden | 450,295 | 280,700 | 75,228 | 70,400,000 | 51 | 138 | 189 | 5,670 |
| Switzerland | 41,285 | 12,700 | 9,106 | 4,990,000 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 270 |
| TOTAL | 5,306,384 | 1,873,530 | 482,118 | 496,881,905 | 445 | 741 | 1,186 | 35,580 |
Methadology
Sources: Roundwood production — Eurostat forestry statistics / UNECE–FAO–Eurostat Joint Forest Sector Questionnaire (JFSQ), supplemented where necessary by national forestry statistics and FAOSTAT. Forest area — Eurostat forestry statistics and national forest inventories. State forest area — national forest authorities and national forest inventories. Rule 1.01 — Syngas Project methodology, 1.01 t recoverable forest residue/ha/year. TITAN cluster basis — 150,000 t/year per cluster.
The latest FOREST EUROPE State of Europe’s Forests 2025 provides the harmonised European forest framework and reports 232.35 million ha of forest across Europe; it also distinguishes forest available for wood supply from total forest and reports country-level forest characteristics. FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025 is the complementary country-reporting system, based on national correspondents and a common methodology.
For ownership, UNECE maintains a dedicated forest-ownership dataset and states that national source data are available through its statistical database. The broader European ownership position is approximately balanced between public and private forests, although the country variation is very large.
Calculation used throughout:
Clusters = Forest Area (ha) × 1.01 ÷ 150,000 tonnes/per year and: Biochar = Total Clusters × 30 tonnes/day
TITAN Forest Biomass Assessment Methodology
Methodology Statement
The TITAN Forest Biomass Assessment has been developed to provide a consistent and conservative comparison of forest biomass opportunity across participating countries.
The methodology deliberately separates recorded national forestry statistics from Syngas Project planning assumptions.
The primary objective is not to estimate every possible biomass resource within a country, but to determine the number of TITAN Clusters that could theoretically be supported using forest-floor harvest and maintenance residues from State-managed forests alone.
This resource forms the North Star of the TITAN development methodology.
Private forests are intentionally excluded from the primary assessment and reported separately as a strategic reserve, recognising their additional long-term potential while acknowledging the greater commercial complexity associated with fragmented ownership and supply-chain development.
Likewise, downstream biomass resources—including sawmill residues, industrial wood offcuts, parks and avenue maintenance, roadside and railway vegetation management, utility corridor maintenance and reclaimed timber—are assessed separately as contingent biomass resources. These streams are not included in the primary TITAN resource calculation and are considered future commercial opportunities rather than requirements for the initial investment case.
Recorded Data
The following information is obtained from official national or European statistical sources:
- Country area
- Forest area
- Percentage forest cover
- State-managed forest area
- Private forest area
- Annual roundwood production
Syngas Project Planning Assumptions
The following assumptions are applied consistently throughout the study:
- Rule 1.01: 1.01 tonnes per hectare per year of recoverable forest-floor harvest and maintenance residues from State-managed forests only.
- Merchantable timber is excluded.
- Firewood is excluded.
- Protected forests are excluded where commercial harvesting is not permitted.
- Private forests are excluded from the base assessment.
The resulting annual biomass resource is expressed as the theoretical number of TITAN Clusters capable of being supported by the State-managed forest-floor resource.
Contingent Biomass Assessment
To illustrate future expansion potential, the study also evaluates additional biomass resources that may become commercially available over time. These include:
- Private forest residues.
- Sawmill residues.
- Industrial and factory wood offcuts.
- Parks, avenue and landscape maintenance biomass.
- Roadside, railway and utility corridor vegetation management.
- Reclaimed timber from demolition, recycling and waste recovery.
Each contingent resource is assessed independently and expressed in equivalent TITAN Clusters. These values are reported separately and are not combined with the primary forest-floor assessment.
Biomass Competition Assessment
Each biomass resource is also classified according to its relative level of commercial competition.
| Biomass Resource | Commercial Competition |
| State Forest Floor (Rule 1.01) | Low |
| Private Forest Floor | Medium |
| Sawmill Residues | Medium–High |
| Industrial Wood Offcuts | High |
| Parks & Avenue Maintenance | Low |
| Reclaimed Timber | Low–Medium |
This approach allows each country to be assessed using a transparent and repeatable methodology while distinguishing between the core resource supporting the TITAN business case and additional biomass resources that may strengthen long-term regional supply resilience and support future expansion.
Rule 1.01
Old Foresters’ Guideline for Recoverable Forest Residue
Syngas Project adopts the Old Foresters’ Rule 1.01 as its engineering guideline for estimating the sustainable availability of recoverable forest residue.
Rule 1.01 assumes that 1.01 tonnes of recoverable forest residue are available per hectare of managed forest per year.
To test the conservatism of Rule 1.01, the methodology is compared with the official Polish forest inventory.
According to the official Polish forest accounts, the average private forest contains approximately 270 m³ of merchantable timber per hectare, while the average State Forest contains approximately 290 m³ per hectare. Syngas Project therefore adopts an average standing timber volume of 280 m³ per hectare.
The official forest inventory indicates an average commercial forest cycle of approximately 55 years for private forests and 62 years for State Forests. Syngas Project adopts an average planning cycle of 58 years.
Applying an engineering average timber density of 0.75 tonnes per cubic metre results in:
- Average standing merchantable timber = 210.0 tonnes per hectare
- Average annual merchantable roundwood production = 210.0 ÷ 58 = 3.62 tonnes per hectare per year
Applying Rule 1.01 gives:
- Recoverable forest residue = 1.01 tonnes per hectare per year
- Combined recoverable woody biomass = 3.62 + 1.01 = 4.63 tonnes per hectare per year
Therefore:
Recoverable forest residue = 1.01 ÷ 4.63 = 21.8% of the combined recoverable woody biomass (merchantable roundwood plus recoverable forest residue).
Syngas Project adopts Rule 1.01 because this calculation demonstrates that it is a conservative engineering guideline for estimating recoverableforest residue. The methodology is intended to estimate the sustainably recoverable biomass resource available for industrial use and not the total quantity of woody biomass physically generated during forest management.
If you want to see our calculation firsthand, stand under a tree and look up!