Biomass gasification has attracted renewed interest in the past 20–30 years. Considerable effort has been expended on applying gasification technology, and getting it ready for the market and to develop it into a mature and functional but also competitive technology. The main driver for the interest in biomass gasification is the versatility of the gases produced. Compared with the proven and mature combustion technology, gasification is still struggling with challenges such as tar or other trace impurities, which cause operational problems for downstream gas utilization. Examples of such gas utilization are in gas engines or turbines or when catalysts are used to reform the combustible gas.

Biomass gasification allows the conversion of different biomass feedstocks to a more convenient gaseous fuel that can then be used in conventional equipment (e.g., boilers, engines, and turbines) or advanced equipment (e.g., fuel cells) for the generation of heat and electricity. The conversion to a gaseous fuel provides a wider choice of technologies for heat and electricity generation for small- to large-scale applications. Furthermore, electricity generation from gaseous fuels is likely to be more efficient compared to the direct combustion of solid fuels. Efficiency is a particularly important issue for biomass systems because of the possible energy and cost implications of the production and transport of biomass fuels, which are generally characterized by a low energy density. The upgrading of biomass feedstocks to gaseous fuels is also likely to lead to a cleaner conversion. In addition to the production of heat and electricity, the product gas could be used to produce transport fuels, such as synthetic diesel or hydrogen.