Research funding win for AD centre

The Wales Centre of Excellence for Anaerobic Digestion (the AD centre), part of the Sustainable Environment Research Centre based at the University of South Wales, has been awarded £889,000 (€1 million) by the Welsh government's A4B project to deliver a 'knowledge transfer' centre focused on advanced anaerobic processes and biogas systems.

The AD centre has been delivering support to the AD industry since 2008. The grant includes provision for £640,000 of new analytical equipment and laboratory-based digestion systems to add to existing facilities. This will increase the centre's capacity to collaborate with industries in the development and deployment of waste management and renewable energy projects based around the production and utilisation of biogas and digestates.

Sandra Esteves, director of the AD centre, says: 'For several years we have been working to interact with and support the emerging AD industry. The additional resources that we can now put in place will be utilised to further help companies address some complex technical challenges, and to develop new processes and products that, at the moment, do not exist.'