Ministers announce €10 million EU Just Transition Fund award for two Midlands Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiatives
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
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From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine Charlie McConalogue T.D., Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications Ossian Smyth T.D., and Ministers of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon T.D. and Senator Pippa Hackett have today announced €10 million funding for two new bioeconomy demonstration projects.
The projects will result in development of innovation hubs to create new products as an alternative to fossil based production, demonstrating the bioeconomy in action in both Co. Tipperary and Co. Offaly. The awards arise from the first of two EU Just Transition Fund Calls for Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiatives, administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union.
Funding of €5 million is being awarded to ‘The Lisheen Bioeconomy Scaleup Initiative (BioScaleUp)’. Led by Tipperary County Council, it will demonstrate six innovative technologies at the national pilot biorefinery facility at the National Bioeconomy Campus, Lisheen Thurles, Co. Tipperary. The initiative will see collaboration between Universities, the Irish Bioeconomy Foundation, and dairy and forestry bioprocessing industries. It will include scaling up and demonstrating the conversion of dairy side streams, food waste and wood processing wastewater into biobased chemicals, materials and other valuable biobased products and services. These could eventually be used as food ingredients or as biobased ingredients in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors, displacing fossil-based ingredients for example.
A further €5 million is being awarded to ‘The Mount Lucas Circular Bioeconomy Aquaculture Initiative (Circular IMTA)’, which is led by the Technological University of Shannon. It will demonstrate the production of new feeds and food ingredients from cultivated-duckweed and macroalgae at scale, using agri-food waste streams produced at a circular peatland integrated aquaculture site at Mount Lucas in Co. Offaly.
Both projects will also include significant training and upskilling opportunities in both facilities across a range of scientific, technical, and engineering, facilitation, business and finance areas related to biorefinery and biomanufacturing.
Commenting on the two newly funded initiatives, Minister McConalogue stated:
“The bioeconomy has the potential to improve the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of the agri-food sector through offering diversification opportunities, through the development of new products, business models and value chains, and reducing the use of non-sustainable inputs in all economic sectors including in the agri-food sector. I am delighted to announce this €10 million investment in two innovative bioeconomy projects as part of Irelands implementation of the EU Just Transition Fund.”
For his part, Minister Smyth said:
“It is imperative that communities and workers who are most affected by the shift to a climate neutral future are provided with targeted supports to address the social and economic impact of the transition. The changes we need to make have to be just, ensuring that the needs of people and planet are supported. The bioeconomy demonstration initiatives in Co. Tipperary and Co. Offaly will stimulate the development of opportunities and benefits of the green and circular bioeconomy by harnessing and supporting the implementation of bottom-up local and regional science, technology, and innovation. This will help build new economic strength and identity for the region while also supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy.”
Minister of State Martin Heydon remarked:
“There are huge opportunities across the bioeconomy. Scaling-up and demonstrating technologies used to process, extract and refine valuable materials from biobased resources is central to developing the Irish bioeconomy. The two projects funded today will set this in motion, providing industry with pilot plant facilities that can help them to de-risk investment decisions and stimulate innovation in Biorefining and Biomanufacturing.”
Minister of State Senator Pippa Hackett stated:
"I am hugely excited by the opportunities that the bioeconomy offers rural areas - both the economic benefits and the potential for job creation, as well as the immense potential for the bioeconomy to play an important role in tackling the climate crisis. The science behind these projects is cutting edge, but the motivation is simple. We need new, innovative solutions to longstanding problems. Having seen first-hand the aquaculture initiative at Mount Lucas in my home county of Offaly, I believe these demonstrator projects will be key catalysts for the success of the Irish bioeconomy sector."
Stefan De Keersmaecker, European Commission Coordinating Spokesperson for the European Green Deal and Spokesperson for Regional Policy and Reforms,
“The EU Just Transition Fund is a tangible and impactful tool to support Ireland’s Midlands in its path towards a net-zero economy, ensuring that no region in Ireland gets left behind during the green transition. We welcome the new bioeconomy projects announced today, which are building on existing local assets in biotechnologies to create and strengthen new value chains in the Midlands’ region. They are fully in line with the JTF’s objective, to support innovative and place-based opportunities that will have a lasting impact on the territory and on its people”.
Clare Bannon, Acting Director of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA), the Managing Authority for Ireland’s EU Just Transition Fund Programme, said:
“I welcome the announcement today of the projects that will receive funding through the Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative under the EU Just Transition Fund (EU JTF). It is another significant milestone for the EU JTF Programme as this initiative is the first of its kind in Ireland in its approach to pilot and demonstrate the bioeconomy in action. The selected projects highlight the ingenuity and locally conceived ideas that have the potential to make a lasting impact on the wider Midland region. We also extend our gratitude to all the applicants for their submissions, which have shown dedication to the opportunity that exists in the region.”
ENDS
1. Project details
The Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative scheme will support the development of 'Bioeconomy Districts' and 'Living Labs' to support circular bioeconomy value chain development within the Region.
a) Lisheen Bioeconomy Scaleup Initiative (BioScaleUP): BioScaleUp proposes the demonstration of six innovative biotechnologies at the national multipurpose bioeconomy pilot biorefinery facility at the National Bioeconomy Campus, Lisheen Thurles, Co. Tipperary. Operating up to Technology readiness level (TRL) 7, the facility will function as a platform for the collaboration between research performing organisations (RPOs) through the BiOrbic Bioeconomy Research Centre, SMEs, and large industry for biorefinery and biomanufacturing. The project will enable the conversion of renewable biobased feedstocks into biobased chemicals, materials, food ingredients, biofuels and other bioproducts.
b) Mount Lucas Circular Bioeconomy Aquaculture Demonstration Initiative (Circular IMTA): This project will harness the use of a novel recirculating, peatland-based, integrated-multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) site at Mount Lucas. It will demonstrate the development of biobased value-chains and products for new feeds and foods from cultivated-duckweed and macroalgae at scale that use fish waste stream as biobased fertilizers to cultivate the duckweed and macroalgae.
2. EU Just Transition Fund, Ireland:
More details can be found here: 'Programme for the EU Just Transition Fund' investment of €169 million in Midlands region officially launched’
3. The Bioeconomy
a) The bioeconomy is the production, utilization, conservation, and regeneration of biological resources, including related knowledge, science, technology, and innovation, to provide sustainable solutions (information, products, processes, and services) within and across all economic sectors and enable a transformation to a sustainable economy.
b) The transition to a sustainable and circular bioeconomy requires developing technical capacity for biorefining, biotechnology and biomanufacturing; scaling-up practices for sustainable biomass production, technologies, and engineering; and developing the basis for cooperative approaches.
c) These challenges and risks, that have been identified through formal stakeholder engagement , can be addressed through piloting, demonstration and cooperation initiatives. The Scheme aims to address these.
4. Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative Scheme for the Just Transition Fund Territory in Ireland as part of the implementation of the Climate Action Plan 2023.
a) The scheme is funded from an allocation of €20 million to the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine from the EU Just Transition Fund. There will be two calls for proposals, one in 2023 and one in 2024.
b) The Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative Scheme relates to Action JM/23/4 ‘Develop opportunities to unlock the full potential of the bioeconomy in Midlands Region’ in the Climate Action Plan 2023 (CAP23), launched in December 2022.
Photo image 1: (L to R) Shay Hannon (Teagasc), Neil Rowan (Technological University of Shannon, TUS), Lorna Walsh (TUS), Patrick Murray (TUS), Elaine Cullinane (Tipperary County Council), Liam Browne (TUS), Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D., Minister of State, Martin Heydon T.D., Minister of State, Ossian Smyth T.D., Simon O’Neill (Tirlan), Kevin O’Connor (BiOrbic Bioeconomy Research Centre & UCD), Bernie Roe (EMRA EU JTF Managing Authority), Helena Stromberg (EMRA), Andrew Murray (Offaly County Council), and Damien Toner (Bord Iascaigh Mhara).