Caroline Hofman, Managing Director of Portlaoise’s Low Carbon Centre of Excellence The CUBE, recently travelled to Denmark as part of a delegation from the Irish Bioeconomy Forum.
This study tour was organised by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, with the visit primarily taking in the rural Jutland region of Denmark.
Over three days, the delegation commenced their visit by travelling to Biorefine, a green biorefinery, followed by a tour of Nature Energy which is an anaerobic digestion and biomethane facility.
On the second day, a farm scale approach for anaerobic digestion and a green refinery was looked at in Ausumgaard, followed by a visit to Greenlab Skieve which looked at biogas, biochar, bio-oil, and a green biorefinery.
This provided an insight into research and development and industry collaboration.
The third and final day encompassed a visit to Aarhus University’s Viborg campus, which is designated as Denmark’s green campus.
Here the delegation learned about applied research and development with field trials and processing facilities.
The final visit was to the Food and Bio Cluster located in the nearby Agro Business Park.
This is a national cluster for food and bioresources, assisting start ups and providing innovation accelerator programmes.
“This study visit was particularly timely in light of the recent publication of the National Biomethane Strategy which looks to develop and support the delivery of biomethane production in Ireland,” Ms Hofman said.
“There are so many similarities between Denmark and Ireland in terms of agriculture.
“Having the opportunity to meet the many stakeholders in Denmark, including small and large scale farmers as well as academics, has been hugely beneficial.
“This visit has provided an insight into potential opportunities for the bioeconomy in Ireland as we seek to meet our emission targets and enhance the circular economy.”
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