For the past few weeks we’ve been delving into the world of biomass, taking a closer look at the successful projects chosen under the UK Government’s Biomass Feedstocks Innovation Program to see what some of the biofuel technologies of the future may be (see parts 1-4).
While we’ve finished looking at the projects that received investment under this scheme, today we’ll be looking at the demonstrators that will also be funded by the initiative – platforms designed to showcase the innovation projects across the UK and ensure they receive the support (both technological and human) needed to adequately trial these emerging technologies.
BIOFIND: the Biomass Feedstock Innovation Demonstration Platform
Led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the BioFIND Phase 1 project will see the design and construction of a UK-wide, multi-site demonstration platform for biomass feedstock production, looking specifically at addressing barriers to wide-scale domestic production.
NIAB: multi-site energy crop demonstrator
The NIAB project has been established to test the efficacy of second generation energy crop-based innovations, compared amongst themselves as well as to industry standards. These trials and demonstrations are to be run across multiple sites in the UK, with sites chosen for the provision of a range of conditions – such as soil type, humidity, and other climatic factors.
Results from the trials will also be used to offer growers a better framework to assess the best energy crops to use on their land – based on both economic and environmental factors.
PromoBio
Led by Reheat (Renewable Technologies) Limited, the PromoBio scheme will connect UK biomass feedstock projects to the tools and resources needed to help them run efficiently and smoothly.
To achieve this, PromoBio will provide a geographical development laboratory that spans the entire UK, and provide connections to a core team of biomass industry experts, as well as to a wider portfolio of biomass experts from the UK and overseas.
