The Bryden Centre

We are an open-access research, development and demonstration biorefining centre and a subsidiary company of the University of York. We are part of the BioPilotsUK - a collaboration created by four established biorefining open-access centres who recognise the importance of partnerships to develop UK bio-based value chains. We develop methods at the laboratory scale, and scale-up processes to demonstrate their commercial potential, typically at the 1-100 litre or 1-100 kg scale. We are a partner in the BioYorkshire initiative. We are involved in a research project which aims to help UK farmers and growers to target Net Zero and increase crop resilience. The Biorenewables Development Centre are pleased to share that they have joined the BBIA. We were founded from a unique partnership between two well-established research centres at the University of York: the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence and the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products. With biologists, chemists, and innovation advisors we offer a unique combination of multi-disciplinary expertise coupled with pilot-scale processing capabilities in one coordinated centre.

IERC research is focused in four key areas of competency. Limiting climate change will necessitate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and the built environment, to zero will require step changes in innovation in new technologies, systems thinking, business models and citizen engagement and radical changes to the energy, transport and heating systems and policies on which much of our modern society is built. As Ireland’s leading not-for-profit professional energy research centre, our work is independent and is free of any expressed technological bias, ideology or political position. Tyndall National Institute is a leading European research centre in integrated ICT (Information and Communications Technology) hardware and systems.

We bridge the gap between industry research needs and academic research offerings. Established in September 2013, we can access £5m of research grant to fund collaborative R&D projects in partnership with academics at Queen’s University Belfast, University of Ulster and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute. The results of CASE R&D also provide a solid base for influencing local government policy in the sustainable energy sector and we proactively promote Northern Ireland’s sustainable energy innovation capability within government circles.

The biorefinery will be built in the facilities of “Alfonso Maíllo” Innovation Center and in the Center for Urban Waste Treatment of Zaragoza (CTRUZ), owned by the Municipality of Zaragoza and managed by CIRCULAR BIOCARBON coordinator URBASER. Established in 2014, the BBI JU aims to implement the Strategic Innovation & Research Agenda (SIRA), developed by the industry in collaboration with the EU to realise a bio-based economy as part of the broader Circular Economy Action Plan for Europe.

Biorefinery Glas is a European Innovation Partnership (EIP) Operational Group funded by Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020. Biorefinery Glas is a first demonstration of small-scale biorefinery in Ireland, supporting development of new business models and farmer diversification into the circular bioeconomy. Biorefinery Glas is a first step towards changing the role of farmers in the bioeconomy, from suppliers of biomass to producers of finished and semi-finished products. Through biorefining, perennial ryegrass is fractionated into a variety of new products in a process which improves the protein efficiency, value and sustainability of our grasslands. The biorefinery approach converts freshly harvested grass into a range of products, including; an optimised cattle feed fibre, a non-GMO protein concentrate feed for monogastrics, a high-value sugar stream of fructo-oligosaccharides and a grass whey for fertiliser or bioenergy applications. The project also expects to achieve a 25% reduction in nitrogen emissions in cattle excrement, with additional emissions savings through displacement of soybean feed imports with a grass-based monogastric feed. The project also demonstrates and evaluates an innovative business model for farm diversification into the circular economy and supports farmers with a range of knowledge exchange and dissemination activities.

Our mission is to promote the conversion of Ireland’s natural land & sea resources to high value products for the development of a sustainable bioeconomy that is globally competitive and creates local development. IBF will soon operate a modern Bioprocess pilot plant covering 1,700 sq. Support in confidential fundraising while leveraging IBF established International networks and relationships. Support in positioning and promoting your products, processes and brand within the Irish and EU Bioeconomy arena.