Geoff Hogan

BSc, DPhil

Bioenergy Scientist

Bioenergy Scientist

Geoff is a bioenergy scientist within the Forest Research Centre for Sustainable Forestry and Climate Change, in the Forest Mensuration, Modelling and Forecasting Science Group. With a professional lifetime in interdisciplinary scientific research, technology and knowledge exchange Geoff plays an important role in communicating science to a wide audience, particularly providing advice and evidence on biomass energy systems.

Geoff explores the physical and chemical properties of biomass feedstocks and the interplay between these and a range of energy conversion technologies. He is also interested in the role of feedstock pre-processing in modifying fuel characteristics, including for combustion and storage.

As a physicist his main strength and interest is working within an integrated, interdisciplinary team, including work on lifecycle analysis (LCA) of bioenergy feedstock supply chainsand conversion technology alternatives.

He has also undertaken research on biomass feedstock resource availability.

With his understanding of biomass systems and forestry, Geoff is developing an important role in testing and validating new models of forest growth, biomass production and carbon dynamics, developed at Forest Research.

Geoff Hogan is a leading expert and the main adviser at Forest Research on biomass as a renewable energy resource. His background is as a research physicist at Oxford University, specializing in laser research. Having run a series of international technology missions in renewable energy technologies for the DTI Global Watch programme he was recruited in 2006 to write the content for the new Biomass Energy Centre (BEC) website, and subsequently joined Forest Research in 2007 to help run BEC, provide the enquiry service and maintain and update the website.

Following the end of funding for BEC in 2014, he has worked on a number of biomass related projects, including a project to assess the extent of variation in physical and chemical properties of various UK biomass feedstocks.

Affiliations

  • Updating and ongoing maintenance of the Biomass Energy Centre website and National Biofuel Supplier Database website

Characterisation of Feedstocks Project for the ETI Bio-energy Programme. Co-ordination between Forest Research and project partners, including liaison with growers, sample suppliers and sampling and analysis teams, some data analysis, interpretation and presentation

ETI Bioenergy LCA Project
Major contribution to critical review of published LCA studies of forest bioenergy supply chains

European Climate Foundation Summary report on Carbon impacts of biomass consumed in the EU
Communicating the key findings and messages of work undertaken for the European Commission on greenhouse gas emissions potentially associated with biomass energy use in the EU

Assessment of Global woody biomass availability under various assumptions of usage, exploitation and sustainability constraints

Books and book chapters

Hogan G (2013) Biomass. Ch. 15 in Roaf, S., M. Fuentes and S. Thomas, Ecohouse: A Design Guide, Fourth Edition, Architectural Press, Oxford

FC, FR and BEC publications

Hogan G (2013) BritishBarkIndustryReport.pdf

Hogan G (2013) UK trade in woodfuel – an overview. FR Report to FC Plant Health

Palmer D, Tubby I, Hogan G and Rolls W (2011) Biomass heating: a guide to small log and wood pellet systems. Biomass Energy Centre, Forest Research, Farnham

Palmer D, Tubby I, Hogan G and Rolls W (2011) Biomass heating: a guide to medium wood chip log and wood pellet systems. Biomass Energy Centre, Forest Research, Farnham

Palmer D, Tubby I, Hogan G and Rolls W (2011) Biomass heating: a guide to feasibility studies. Biomass Energy Centre, Forest Research, Farnham

Contract and project reports

Matthews R, Sokka L, Soimakallio S, Mortimer N, Rix J, Schelhaas M-J, Jenkins T, Hogan G, Mackie E,Morris A and Randle T (2014) Review of literature on biogenic carbon and life cycle assessment of forest bioenergy. Task 1 report, DG ENER project ‘Carbon impacts of biomass consumed in the EU’

Howes P, Bates J, Landy M, O'Brien S, Herbert R, Matthews R and Hogan GP (2011) UK and Global Bioenergy Resource.Final report to DECC, Reference No. ED56029

Web pages

Most of the contents of the Biomass Energy Centre website

Geoff has also written or contributed to a range of information sheets and other documents on behalf of the Biomass Energy Centre, contributed to articles published in newspapers and periodicals, and been interviewed by the BBC on radio and television.