European partnerships to unlock the potential of algal
bioenergy
7th September 2011
A
major €14 million (approx £12.3 million) initiative is bringing
experts from across North West Europe together to develop the
potential of algae as a source of sustainable energy.
The four-year transnational Energetic
Algae (or EnAlgae) project, led by Swansea
University, is a strategic initiative funded by the INTERREG IVB
North West Europe Programme and backed with £629,000 from the
Targeted Match Fund through the Welsh Government, together with a
range of co-sponsors.
It involves 19 Partners and 13 Observers
across eight EU member states; France, Belgium, UK, Germany,
Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Luxembourg, and aims to
reduce CO2 emissions and dependency on unsustainable
energy sources, through the accelerated development and deployment
of algal-based biomass and bioenergy technologies.
In 2009, the EC Greenhouse Gas Inventory
reported that North West Europe was responsible for more than 40
per cent of the EU’s total Greenhouse Gas emissions. This was due
to the region’s high population density and its intensive level of
industrial and rural development.
Given such considerable pressures on the
environment and current energy sources, sustainable bioenergy
innovations could help provide a solution to tackling
CO2 emissions across the region, encouraging growth of a
Low Carbon Economy. Currently, algal bioenergy technologies are
immature, but rapid advances are being made in the field.
The EnAlgae initiative will allow
expert centres across North West Europe to form an integrated pilot
network to support and accelerate the development of new
algal-based technologies to the point of commercialisation.
The project is unique in developing best
practices that will influence European policies on algal biomass
production, bioenergy and bioremediation technologies, thereby
de-risking and accelerating commercialisation of the sector.
The project’s manager Dr Robin Shields,
Director of the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research (CSAR) at
Swansea University’s College of Science, said: “Algal bioenergy has
been identified as a strategic priority by the INTERREG IVB NWE
Programme. The EnAlgae expert partnership has been formed
to develop and implement technologies tailored to the unique
socio-economic and environmental conditions of North West
Europe.
“Thanks to close transnational cooperation,
EnAlgae partners and stakeholders will gain access to
those sustainable technologies most suited to their local operating
conditions.
“As project lead partner, Swansea University
is delighted to extend its industry-focused research on algal
bioremediation and biorefinery technologies, in partnership with
acknowledged experts from across North West Europe.”
As a partner in the project, Plymouth Marine
Laboratory will contribute to the EnAlgae project by providing data
from a UK-based photobioreactor cultivating microalgae.
Dr Carole Llewellyn, marine chemist and algal
biotechnologist at PML said “We are excited to be involved in this
project which is bringing together experts and stakeholders across
the north west of Europe. We are looking forward to working with
those partners and developing the important area of using
microalgae as a sustainable source of bioenergy, and driving this
through to make it commercially viable.