Seán Canney TD, Minister of State for International and Road Transport, Logistics, Rail and Ports and Leader in Cabinet of the Independent Ministers, has welcomed the announcement of €10 million under the EU Just Transition Fund for two major bioeconomy demonstration projects – with over €1.6 million of that funding secured by west of Ireland partners.
Under the €5 million BIOCHAR project led by the University of Limerick, Mountbellew Agricultural College will receive €198,700, while the Western Development Commission has secured €743,048 to support regional development and scaling opportunities. Also included in the project are Roadstone and Teagasc, both of which have offices in Galway and across the west. Teagasc will receive €542,138, while Roadstone has secured €197,100.
Minister Canney said: “Over €1.6 million coming to the west and west of Ireland linked organisations as part of this national programme is significant. The West is actively shaping how Ireland builds its bioeconomy.”
The BIOCHAR project will demonstrate how biochar – a carbon-rich material made from indigenous biomass such as wood chips and crop residues – can be used in agriculture, renewable energy, wastewater treatment and even road construction. Trials will include reducing ammonia emissions in poultry sheds and slurry storage, increasing biogas output in anaerobic digestion, improving soil quality and incorporating treated biochar into asphalt for roads and cycle lanes. The project will also develop a blueprint for a mid-sized biochar facility to support future investment.
The second €5 million project, TRANSFORM, led by University College Dublin, will demonstrate how agri-food by-products – including brewers’ spent grain – can be upcycled into high-value functional ingredients using fermentation technology.
Minister Canney said the projects show how climate action and rural development can go hand in hand.
“This is about turning waste into value, reducing emissions and building new industries rooted in our regions. With Ballinasloe included in the Just Transition Territory and west of Ireland partners included in this funding, our region is firmly part of that future.”
Notes to Editor
The EU Just Transition Fund Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the EU Just Transition Fund.
This Funding Call aimed to support the development of two Bioeconomy piloting and demonstration projects in the ‘Designated Territories’ of the midlands, which includes the counties of Laois, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath, Roscommon, and the Municipal Districts of Ballinasloe (Co. Galway), Athy and Clane-Maynooth (Co. Kildare), and Carrick-on-Suir and Thurles (Co. Tipperary).
