Residual products from the seed company, Skånefrö, were previously dumped in landfills. They will now instead be converted into fuel pellets that will make the company self-sufficient in energy. The pellets formula has been produced by environmental chemists and entrepreneurs from Chalmers.
The company’s ambition was to dispose of the residual biomass from its seed production in a more environmentally sustainable manner, to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, and to make itself independent of fossil fuels. Chalmers provided the expertise needed to manufacture environmentally-friendly pellets from the shells, husks and seed residues that were left over from the seed production process.
“In collaboration with researchers in the Environmental Inorganic Chemistry department, we tested various environmentally-friendly additives in order to produce fuel pellets that emitted low quantities of acidifying flue gases and performed better in terms of combustion. The fact that the company is now completely self-sufficient in energy and furthermore produces surplus energy that is used in the local district heating network is a good example of how research is producing tangible benefits in society,” says David Andersson, CEO of Ecoera, a company with roots in Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship.
Earlier this year the European Commission designated the project as one of four top projects among the hundreds that have received support from the EU’s financial instrument for the environment, LIFE Environment. The criteria were that the projects should involve environmental, financial and social improvements of both an immediate and a more long-term character.
Furthermore, the results should have a high level of innovation and be commercially distributable. Visitors from some forty countries over the four years that the project has been underway demonstrate the major international interest in the technology that has been developed.
As a bonus, a soil improver, bio coal, has also been successfully developed through pyrolysis of selected pellets formulas, making a further contribution to the positive change compared with the situation previously.
“Right now we are working on exporting this overall concept to countries including Japan and China. Both countries have a requirement for Swedish technology and know-how within this area in order to make the transition to a more sustainable energy system,” says David Andersson.
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