European Bioenergy Research Institute develops Pyroformer

In the UK, as fuel prices continue to increase, researchers from the European Bioenergy Research Institute (EBRI) at Aston University in Birmingham, have developed an innovative bioenergy solution that uses waste products to generate cost-effective heat and power and that could reduce the world’s reliance on fossil fuels.

The market opportunities of the equipment – a Pyroformer, developed by Professor Andreas Hornung, of EBRI – also offer business benefits to the West Midlands region. It is anticipated that 35 jobs will be directly safeguarded or created and over 1,000 indirect jobs created in the West Midlands by 2022 as a result. This would see an increase in the turnover of the West Midlands’ regional bioenergy industry and will result in an increase in Net Regional GVA of GBP105 million by the same date.

Tests have shown that unlike other bioenergy plants, the Pyroformer has no negative environmental or food security impacts. It can use multiple waste sources and therefore does not require the destruction of rainforests or the use of agricultural land for the growth of specialist bioenergy crops. In fact biochar – one of its by-products – can even be used as a fertiliser to increase crop yields.
As well as generating heat and power, the Pyroformer also dramatically reduces the amount of material sent to landfill.