Yorkshire projects share Government funds to boost biomass production
Initiatives in Yorkshire are among 24 national projects to share £4m worth of funding from the Government to increase biomass production to generate more green energy.
Biomass is used for low-carbon renewable energy generation and is a key component in UK’s commitment to tackle climate change.
Biomass materials include non-food energy crops such as grasses and hemp, material from forestry operations and marine-based materials such as algae and seaweed.
Among the innovative Yorkshire recipients of the Government support is SeaGrown Limited, in Scarborough.
It will use over £180,000 of funding to develop new techniques to farm and harvest seaweed off the North Yorkshire coast, taking advantage of seaweed’s qualities as a source of biomass and its ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
Also in line for funding is Harrogate-based ECCL 2020 Ltd, which will focus on innovation of harvesting and planting technology on standard machinery such as harvesters, tractors and trailers.
Biomass supply chain companies will be able to licence new intellectual property to scale up access to machinery, which will then be able to work on a wider range of land and soil types, in a wider range of weather conditions, increasing the harvesting and planting seasons.
Finally, a York University project called HEMP-30, aims to accelerate a major expansion of the breeding, growing, harvesting and utilisation of industrial hemp as a UK crop through the 2020s and 2030s.
Industrial hemp has excellent environmental qualities as a soil health improver with low input needs, representing an excellent secondary crop for farmers.
The Biomass Feedstocks Innovation Programme is intended to enable greater supply of organic materials from domestic sources rather than using imported matter, with the projects supporting rural economies across the UK, including providing jobs and encouraging investment.
The programme is funded through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s £1bn Net Zero Innovation Portfolio.
Energy Minister Lord Callanan said: “Working to develop new and greener types of fuel like biomass is an important part of building a the diverse and green energy mix that we will need to achieve our climate change targets.
“We are backing UK innovators to ensure we have a homegrown supply of biomass materials, which is part of our wider plans to continue driving down carbon emissions as we build back greener.”
UK Net Zero business champion, Andrew Griffith, added: “Innovation is crucial to achieve a low carbon future and it’s fantastic that the UK is home to so much world-leading entrepreneurial talent that will help us meet our climate change commitments.
“Not only will this funding for biomass feedstocks help to achieve net zero by 2050, but it rightly rewards innovative people and businesses that are leading the way to a brighter, cleaner future.”
