€9m boost for cross-border bioeconomy projects

Two bioeconomy demonstration projects are to share €9 million in funding under the Shared Island Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative, the Government has announced.

The initiative is supported by €7 million from the Government of Ireland’s Shared Island Fund, with additional co-funding of €1.5 million from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and £0.5 million from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Minister of State for Agriculture, Martin Heydon, and Northern Ireland’s Agriculture Minister, Andrew Muir, confirmed on Wednesday that two large-scale projects will each receive €4.5 million to demonstrate bio-based innovation across the island.

One of the projects, Recycling Phosphates and Nitrogen from Agricultural Residues (REGENERATE), is led by Greenville Energy in Co Tyrone. It will bring together partners north and south to develop sustainable bio-based fertiliser products aimed at improving competitiveness and contributing to carbon reduction targets.

The second project, All Island Marine Bio-based Refineries for Circular Blue-Bioeconomy (AIMBIO), will be led by Teagasc Ashtown. It will work with aquaculture, fisheries and aquatic processors to convert untapped marine resources into high-value ingredients for food, feed, bio-based chemicals and cosmetics.

Mr Martin said the awards reflected the opportunities and challenges shared across the island in areas such as climate action and sustainability. “This new programme deepens our cooperation with the Northern Ireland Executive on a shared goal,” he said.

Mr Heydon said the bioeconomy offered “new and exciting opportunities for our agriculture, food, forest and marine systems” and that scaling up technologies was needed to create new value chains. He said both projects had the potential to become flagship demonstrators for Ireland’s growing bioeconomy.

Mr Muir described the awards as “an exciting and important step in addressing the climate challenges we face” and welcomed the collaboration between industry, academia and government on both sides of the border.

The two initiatives will serve as pilots to accelerate the commercialisation of bio-based products while supporting rural and coastal communities.