The prize is awarded to him for his outstanding contribution and leadership for over 30 years in developing and in market introduction of several important technologies for energy carrier production and sustainable energy generation from biomass by thermochemical methods. Especially his work on producing syngas from biomass by dual zone circulating fluid bed gasification attracted worldwide attention and admiration.

Its implementation for combined cycle energy generation in Güssing was an important step in reaching a share of almost 100% renewable energy in this South East Austrian town, provided hundreds of new jobs, flourishing businesses attracted scientists and business people from all over the world and even enhanced tourism.

Professor Hofbauer has been and still is active in many international networks and advisory committees, chairman of scientific boards, in the different IEA-groups as member or Austrian delegate and in the executive committee. He is also key-researcher at the competence center “Bioenergy 2020” Gasification. Hermann Hofbauer is often invited at international congresses on biomass and appreciated as an authoritative speaker, a friendly and wise colleague and an effective promoter of biomass energy.

Next to all this he also paid a lot of attention to educating young people, had leading positions in management of education and general administration at the University of Technology in Vienna.

The European Linneborn Prize was established in 1994 for outstanding contributions to the development of energy from biomass. The Prize is named in honour of Johannes Linneborn, a pioneer of wood gasification. Deeply rooted in human ethics, he had far reaching visions on the world’s development, on health, transport and agriculture.