Key facts
- IrBEA joins the Interreg North-West Europe (NWE) consortium for the VALORANT project.
- The project focuses on developing decision frameworks for agricultural and horticultural biomass valorisation.
- Key outputs include biogas, biofuels, and biochar.
- The project aims to pilot new pathways for underused biomass residues.
- IrBEA will coordinate a pilot pathway in Ireland and provide bioenergy expertise.
The Irish Bioenergy Association (IrBEA) has become part of the Interreg North-West Europe (NWE) consortium for the VALORANT project. This initiative involves Climaticus, an Irish sustainability consultancy, and eight other partners from Belgium, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. The project's primary goal is to create a decision framework to assist farmers, processors, and industries in identifying, piloting, and implementing valorisation pathways for horticultural and agricultural biomass. This aims to promote circular economy practices. Stephen McCormack of IrBEA highlighted the opportunity to collaborate with leading partners to develop sustainable and commercially viable solutions for the bioenergy sector. The project will focus on utilizing residues from fruits, vegetables, and flowers, which are currently underused, to produce valuable compounds, protein, and bioenergy. IrBEA will contribute its bioenergy expertise, manage a pilot pathway in Ireland, and support life cycle assessments and training workshops. Dr. Sabine Van Miert from Thomas More University of Applied Sciences noted that IrBEA's inclusion strengthens the consortium's multidisciplinary capabilities and will be crucial for collaboration and knowledge exchange.