Biomass boilers and wood stoves - Projects

Danish Technological Institute participates in both national and international projects focused on developing the wood stoves and boilers of the future.

We also involve manufacturers in this work, so please feel free to contact us if you have an idea for a project where we could take the lead.

Examples of ongoing projects

Robust and user-friendly electrostatic particle filter for wood stoves

• Co-funding: The Danish Environmental Protection Agency
• Purpose: The project is to develop a new electrostatic filter for indoor wood stoves, along with a user-friendly, intelligent maintenance system that ensures a high and sustained reduction of fine and ultrafine particles. The solution must be affordable and easy for users to maintain, thereby motivating more wood stove owners to install the filter and contribute to improved air quality in densely populated areas.

Contact: Simone Munkholm Kevy, smke@teknologisk.dk

Clean Air Testzone

• Purpose & results: The project investigated how new wood stove technologies, filters, chimney optimisation, and correct firing practices affect air quality under real-life consumer conditions. The test zone was established in a residential area near Aarhus with many wood stoves and limited influence from other pollution sources. During the period 2020–2023, 25 households participated, and various improvements were implemented, including new stoves, chimneys, filters, and user training. The effects were measured both in local air quality and directly in the flue gas from selected installations. The results showed reductions in emissions of particles, carbon monoxide, and organic gases, while the improvements varied depending on the quality of the installation and the user’s firing technique. The project also developed models for assessing indoor climate risk and particle emissions from wood stoves. Overall, the project demonstrated that targeted technical and user-related measures can significantly reduce pollution from wood burning.

Read more about the project here
 

Intelligent burner

• Co-funding:The Danish Energy Agency
• Purpose: To clarify the influence of combustion parameters on flue gas composition in a biomass boiler. To investigate the relationship between construction materials and dust emissions and subsequently optimise air and fuel supply. The results will be used in the development of a range of components for integration into an intelligent burner that improves boiler performance.

See publication here
 

EcoDesign+ Boiler

• Co-funding: The Danish Environmental Protection Agency
• Purpose: The purpose of the project is to develop two new small-scale (<50 kW) ultra-low-emission biomass boilers with gasification technology and flue gas recirculation in order to reduce particulate and NOx emissions while increasing energy efficiency. The new boilers will be ready to meet stricter future requirements and may represent a new boiler generation.

Read more here

Contact: René Lyngsø Hvidberg, rehv@teknologisk.dk

BeReal – Advanced Testing Methods for Biomass Room Heating Appliances

• Co-funding: EU 7th Framework Programme
• Purpose: Development of test procedures for biomass boilers that are more representative of real-life conditions than current methods.
   

Development of a 400 kW straw boiler with low emissions

• Partner: Faust
• Co-funding: The Danish Environmental Protection Agency
• Purpose: The overall purpose of the project is to develop a manually fired (also known as batch-fired) straw boiler of approximately 400 kW with lower emissions than straw boilers currently available on the market.

See publication here

Soft traceable online moisture measurement in wood

• Co-funding:The Danish Energy Agency
• Purpose: To develop a method for qualifying measurements of water content in wood chips for biomass-fired plants, including the establishment of improved equipment for online measurement and sampling.

See publication here

Slow Heat Release – Wood stove with salt hydrate thermal storage

• Partners: Morsø Jernstøberi A/S
• Co-funding: The Danish Environmental Protection Agency
• Purpose: To build a wood stove together with a thermal storage unit that can absorb heat and release it even when the stove is not being fired, thereby avoiding harmful overnight firing.

TKK – Development of a wood stove with two-chamber catalytic combustion

• Partners: RAIS
• Co-funding: The Danish Environmental Protection Agency
• Purpose and results: Development and testing of a wood stove with two-chamber combustion, including equipping the secondary combustion chamber with a catalyst. The developed stove showed good combustion results. A comparison was made with a conventional wood stove.

MiljøKat – A catalytic unit for flue gas cleaning on wood stoves and boilers

• Partners: SCAN A/S and DTU/CHEC
• Co-funding: The Danish Environmental Protection Agency
• Purpose and results: To develop a retrofit unit for catalytic cleaning of flue gas from existing wood stoves and boilers. Measurements carried out with and without the catalyst mounted on the flue outlet of an older and a modern wood stove, respectively, showed a particularly significant emission reduction when retrofitting the catalyst to the older wood stove. CO was reduced by 80–90% and OGC by up to 75%.

See publication here