Northumberland firm awarded £174,000 by Government to lead work on increasing biomass production

Alnwick-based re:heat is leading a team of academic and industry partners in the Biomass Feedstocks Innovation Programme (BFIP), a flagship effort by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to stimulate increased production of biomass feedstocks in the UK.

Biomass is used in a wide range of applications, ranging from the traditional, such as wood for house construction or heating, through to the more novel forms and applications, such as seaweed for use in pharmaceutical manufacture or algae for use as an animal feed.

The greater the quantity of sustainable biomass that is used to displace fossil fuels in energy, packaging and food, or high carbon materials such as concrete, plastic and steel in construction and manufacturing, the bigger the contribution to fighting climate change.

Neil Harrison, director of re:heat and lead for the PromoBio project said: “It’s fantastic that BEIS have recognised the skills of our team and quality of our proposal with the award of phase 1 BFIP funding to us and our partners to develop the PromoBio project.

“Climate change is the biggest single threat facing us today, and it’s vital that we increase the quantity of sustainable biomass available to UK businesses so that more bio-based materials will be produced to displace fossil fuels and high-carbon products across the UK economy.”

“The range of innovation projects that have also been awarded funding from BFIP is incredibly broad, ranging from new approaches to traditional forest management, through to dedicated energy crops and the production of micro-algae from whisky waste for use as fish food.

"The places where biomass can be used to displace high carbon products and fossil fuels in our economy never ceases to amaze me, and we hope we’ll have a chance to support all of these enterprises through the PromoBio project.”

re:heat’s project - PromoBio - has been awarded £174,000 to develop a support programme for the projects that go forward to Phase 2.

If successful in moving forward to Phase 2, re:heat will support other programme participants with the development of up to 20 biomass feedstock innovations, providing scientific and commercial expertise, and networking and promotional opportunities to March 2025.

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