Bioenergy Potential of Europe's Perennial and Biennial Wildflowers: A Combustion Performance Benchmark

Abstract The European Commission prioritizes addressing environmental issues like agrobiodiversity loss within a thriving bioeconomy's defossilization. This study investigates eight native European herbaceous flowering wild plant species (WPS) like common tansy ( Tanacetum vulgare L.) and wild teasel ( Dipsacus fullonum L.) as co‐substrates for pellet combustion, aiming for more biodiversity‐friendly bioenergy cropping systems. A long‐term field trial in southwest Germany examined dry matter (DM) yield and biochemical composition's influence on combustion properties for these WPS and two common bioenergy crops, Miscanthus ( Miscanthus x giganteus Greef et Deuter) and Sida ( Sida hermaphrodita L. var. Rusby), over two growing seasons. All eight WPS showed suitable combustion properties, comparable to Sida , with significantly higher ash melting temperatures than Miscanthus . This is largely attributed to elevated calcium (5.6–15.3 mg g ⁻¹ DM) and magnesium (0.6–2.4 mg g ⁻¹ DM) contents. A consistent WPS biomass composition is suggested by no significant year effect. Additionally, lower SO ₂ and HCl fugacity indicated more environmentally friendly combustion than Miscanthus . However, only a few WPS matched Miscanthus's high DM yield (6.0–12.3 Mg ha ⁻¹ ). This underscores the need for broader WPS investigation to find effective combined solutions for bioenergy and rural environmental protection.