What has been hailed as the world's first biomass exchange looks set to be launched in Rotterdam from next month, in response to soaring demand for wood chips from the biomass energy industry.

The exchange has been developed jointly by energy exchange APX-ENDEX and the Port of Rotterdam, Europe's biggest port, after a deal struck between the two companies in 2010.

Online systems in North America already serve a global market for wood pellets estimated to stand at around 10 million tonnes a year. Countries are increasingly turning to biomass to decarbonise their energy sectors, and experts predict that demand could grow sixfold by 2020.

"In the port area itself, we foresee a market of two to three million tonnes in 2025," said Hans Smits, chief executive of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, in a statement. "Outside Rotterdam, demand will be many times larger. APX-ENDEX increases the chance that these flows will run via Rotterdam Energy Port."

Trading will commence on 3 November with non-cleared products, before a second phase scheduled for 2012 will see the development of clearing services for wood pellets contracts.

Contracts offered for trading run for three, nine or 36 months, the Anglo-Dutch company said in a statement.

The new exchange is likely to further fuel the debate over the sustainability of biomass imports.

The RSPB estimates that there are 31 biomass plants in operation in the UK, with 14 more approved, 16 in the planning stage and a further nine proposed, and the group is concerned that rising demand for wood chips could lead to increased deforestation and habitat loss.

European countries are likely to look abroad to meet future biomass needs, potentially pushing up the price of wood and encouraging deforestation in poorer countries, critics say.

However, supporters of biomass power, including the UK Forestry Commission, have repeatedly argued that wood from sustainable forests, where new trees are planted when others are cut down, releases far less carbon than traditional fossil fuels.