A forced use of renewable energy sources (RES) is necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly. Among RES biomass-based resources play a specific role regarding their CO2-reduction potentials, their energetic potentials and their overall costs for different derived energy carriers. From various categories of biomass resources - forestry, agricultural crops, short rotation coppices or waste products - different alternative energy carriers (AEC) like biofuels 1st or 2nd generation, electricity or hydrogen can be produced. In this paper we analyse possible biomass-based energy chains for different AEC in Austria. We investigate their overall potential by 2050, corresponding CO2-reduction potentials and resulting CO2 saving costs. The core results of this analysis are: (i) the overall potential by 2050 is approximately 130 PJ compared to 30 PJ in 2010; and (ii) the corresponding CO2-reduction potential is about 7 million tons CO2equ. This is roughly two-third reduction compared to the use of conventional fuels. The major conclusion is that only if a tuned portfolio of actions - CO2-tax, ecological monitoring system, a focussed R&D programme for second generation biofuels and fuel cells - is implemented the potential of new biomass-based AEC can be exploited up to 2050 in an optimal way for society. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.