Terravesta gets Phase 1 funding for miscanthus bioenergy project

November 28, 2021 |

In the United Kingdom, miscanthus specialist, Terravesta, was successful in its bid to secure Phase 1 funding for its OMENZ project which stands for ‘Optimising Miscanthus Establishment through improved mechanisation and data capture to meet Net Zero targets’. Success in Phase 1 will enable upscaling to contribute to the recommendation from the Climate Change Committee’s Sixth Carbon budget in Phase 2. To fulfill the need of planting at least 30,000 hectares a year by 2035, so that 700,000 hectares are planted by 2050.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) awarded £4 million of funding for the project development stage of the Biomass Feedstocks Innovation Programme, with up to £200,000 of funding per project and a project to facilitate more planting of Miscanthus was awarded £150,000 of funding through programme, to help contribute to 2050 net zero targets.

And speaking at COP26 in a fringe panel event hosted by the Renewable Energy Association (REA) and the National Farmers Union (NFU) on 10th November, Terravesta chairman, William Cracroft-Eley, discussed the exciting potential for Miscanthus and other Perennial Energy Crops (PECs) in not only reaching net zero, but providing exciting opportunities for land-based sectors.

“The next two decades will see the revelation of the most sensational and exciting bio-industrial revolution. It will re-shape and redefine our industrial platforms in a way that today seems hard to imagine,” he said.

William said that Miscanthus has the ability to sequester 2.35 tonnes of CO2 per ha per annum, it has low inputs of fertiliser, chemicals, and power, enabling an opportunity to genuinely reduce whole farm emissions.

Category: Fuels

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