The COASTAL Biogas project attracts a lot of attention and it was featured in the latest issue of Energigas (a Swedish magazine).
Following the link below you will find the news in the lower right corner.
https://www.e-magin.se/paper/bj32f52t/paper/1#/paper/bj32f52t/32
The use of biomass is multifarious: energy carrier, feed, ecological fertilizer. However, due to existing competition in the usage, areas under cultivation cannot meet the need for biomass in this growing market. Rather, there is great potential in free available biomass. This is unused biomass from landscape management processes, which is available through vegetation care or cleaning measures like for example Seaweed. However, the legal framework for using these resources is inconsistent, although the contribution to the environment, specifically nutrient export, is undisputed. Based on several case studies and literature, the quantities, the properties of the substrates as well as the fermentability are determined in order to investigate the suitability for an appropriate usage path. As part of the 13. Rostocker Bioenergy forum, the University of Rostock produced a publication on the topic „Utilization potential of free available biomass in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania”. In the accompanying presentation at 13 June, various initiatives on the use of free available biomass sources like the project COASTAL Biogas were presented.
The second COASTAL Biogas Conference was held on 13 and 14 November 2019 in Roskilde, Denmark. Prior to that, on 12 November, project partners met for the third Steering Group Meeting (SGM) to plan and discuss upcoming activities and further implementation of the project. At the beginning of the conference the critical eutrophication state of the Baltic Sea and possibilities to improve the situation were introduced in the keynote speech by a representative of HELCOM (Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission – Helsinki Commission). Subsequently, first results achieved in the COASTAL Biogas project were presented and partners from connected projects gave an insight into how they try to tackle the issue of cast seaweed. In the last session the regulations and management of digestate in Denmark, digestate processing options and policy work on digestate management of the European Biogas Association were made subject of discussion. The study tour on the next day led the participants to the beach at Køge Bay (see photo) and the Solrød biogas plant, where cast seaweed is already utilised as co-substrate for anaerobic digestion.
The date and venue of the next conference will be released very soon on this website.
Stay tuned and register for the COASTAL Biogas newsletter, which is distributed half yearly.
Photo: Anne Roßmann, FNR, 2019
The presentations given at the 2nd COASTAL Biogas conference in Roskilde are now online. Go to the conference webpage and click on the title of the presentation you want to view.
On 21 October 2019 COASTAL Biogas German project partners participated in the event “Küstenforum Klimaschutz und -anpassung mit Treibsel” (coastal forum about climate protection and adaption with beach wrack) in Travemünde, Germany. The event was hosted by the two projects POSIMA and CONTRA. It was a great opportunity to meet and connect with representatives from companies, research institutes, SMEs and administrative bodies, which all have a joint interest in beach wrack and cast seaweed and their utilisation opportunities. Beach wrack can be utilised in various ways, for example as substrate for composting or biogas facilities, for coastal protection, as bio based resource for building insulation or even for bio-char production. However, there are still a number of open questions, which were discussed: The legislative framework for seaweed collection and handling at some points is unclear and the utilisation of fresh or digested seaweed as fertiliser on agricultural land is highly regulated by the fertiliser ordinance. Furthermore, the application process for exemption is complicated and time-consuming. This makes it difficult for coastal municipalities to choose an appropriate utilisation possibility. Nevertheless, there are positive examples, where coastal municipalities team up with local farmers and consistently work through the whole process.
On the 22nd of November 2018 the first COASTAL Biogas steering group meeting took place at Gdansk University of Technology (GUT), Poland.
From left: Tyge Kjaer and Michelle Hansen (RUC), Sebastian Foth (UROS), Anne Roßmann (FNR), Jörgen Held, (BEIC), Frank Scholwin, (UROS), Andrius Tamosiunas and Nerijus Striugas (LEI) and Robert Aranowski, (GUT). Jan Hupka and Iwona Kopcynska (GUT) participated in the meeting but are not present in the picture.
The meeting was opened by the project coordinator Anne Roßmann (FNR), followed by presentations of the WP leaders. The interactions between the WPs were reviewed in detail and crosslinks were elucidated. The gathering was also used to lively discuss issues, such as requirements of seaweed collection methods on beaches and in marinas, technologies for pretreatment of seaweed prior to anaerobic digestion in biogas plants and options for developing a training kit for project stakeholders. The meeting was rounded off with a study tour in the GUT biogas laboratories.
On the 6th of July 2018 the COASTAL Biogas kick-off took place at InterCity hotel in Rostock.
From left: Frank Scholwin, (UROS), Tyge Kjaer, (RUC), Andrea Schüch, (UROS), Jan Hupka, (GUT), Jörgen Held, (BEIC), Wibke Baumgarten, (FNR), Robert Aranowski, (GUT), Alexander Schwock, (German NCP), Nerijus Striugas and Diana Sarauskiene (LEI).
The project officer, Marta Niciejewska, from the Joint Secretariat in Gdansk presented useful and valuable insights how to conduct a project within the Interreg South Baltic Programme.
The meeting was coordinated by Wibke Baumgarten (FNR), the lead partner.