Promoting green innovation

InCrops Director Dr John French, based at UEA, explained: ‘By drawing upon the world-class research expertise that we possess across the region, we can promote green innovation, whether it’s for biofuel, green fashion, construction materials, healthcare or functional foods.’

In Cambridge, researchers in six departments are involved in interactions with InCrops. The main point of contact is the Department of Plant Sciences, where the role of the InCrops Business Innovation Manager Dr Beatrix Schlarb-Ridley is to connect regional companies to relevant academic expertise in plant-related research.

One such company is CH₄Power, a start-up converting food waste via anaerobic digestion into biogas and eventually to electricity. Adrian Venni from CH₄Power said: ‘The collaboration with InCrops and its academic partnership is finally making it possible to turn a vision for progress I have had for many years into reality.’ In collaboration with the Algal Bioenergy Consortium in Cambridge, the company is investigating a closed-loop system for energy generation by growing algae and duckweed in the nutrient-rich liquid digestate, fed by flue gas CO₂.

The five-year, £4 million InCrops project is being funded by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and the European Regional Development Fund. Andrew Luff of EEDA added: ‘By 2013, the project aims to have supported the growth of the East of England’s low carbon economy by helping SMEs to create 70 new jobs and entrepreneurs to start 50 new businesses.’