NOVELTY - A solid bio-fuel is produced by cultivating Cynara cardunculus (wild artichoke or cardoon). The Cynara cardunculus can be produced either from raw biomass harvested in the field from the harvested plant organs including stem, upper leaves, heads and seeds or their parts, or after processing and palletizing in the form of chips, pellets of various sizes i.e. diameter 3-8 mm or thicker, length of greater than or equal to 0.5-3 cm, or briquettes with diameters greater than or equal to 8-20 cm and various lengths.    USE - For producing bio-fuel useful in e.g. burners for domestic (stoves, fire places, central heating) and industrial use (large plants) for heat or electric energy production (claimed).    ADVANTAGE - The heating value of Cynara cardunculus reaches 20-22 MJ/t dry matter if the seed is included in the bio-fuel. Due to identical percentage of seed-oil in biomass (3.75%), this biomass can be possessed (pelletized) in rates 7-15 times higher than other wood materials at industrial basis, thus minimizing the operation cost of the plant. The greatest benefit of producing energy from biomass of cultivated Cynara cardunculus is the associated large energy balance that reaches 1:27 (compared to 1:1.3 and 1:8 for ethanol produced by corn and sugar cane, respectively and 1:2.5 for bio-diesel produced by oil seed rape). This is due to the large growing cycle of Cynara cardunculus if properly cultivated (establishment once in 10-15 years) and the minimum energy inputs required i.e. zero to modest fertilization, no weeds control, no irrigation. Also biomass productivity in the order of 15-30 t/ha, about 7.5-15 tons oil equivalent (toe) can be produced per hectare well-organized cardoon cultivation against minimum production cost in the field (less than 40 euro/toe). The shifting from traditional cultivations to Cynara cardunculus cultivation will multiply the farm profit (ten-fold profit increase with respect to cereals, twofold increase with respect to cotton cultivation, etc) and will give new perspectives of rural development. The selling price of the produced bio-fuel will be much cheaper per kilogram of oil equivalent (50-70%). The use of Cynara cardunculus as a solid bio-fuel decreases the emissions of carbon dioxide to zero, thus greatly contributing to control greenhouse effect. The cultivation of Cynara cardunculus comprises an important factor against the risk of pollution of groundwater with nitrates, due to the modest needs of this cultivation in nitrogen fertilization. Due to its great compatibility Cynara cardunculus does not allow the mutual growth of other weeds. The crop is highly tolerant and is not affected by other diseases or insect attacks. Thus the use of fungicides, pesticides, insecticides, and the agrochemicals is almost zero. Also Cynara cardunculus makes perfect use of the winter rains and produces high yields without irrigation. The contribution of Cynara cardunculus cultivation to the improvement of soil fertility is great due to enrichment with organic matter and the creation of good soil structure.