GreenGas (GG) Cluster will develop the data sets underpinning validation of the technical, economic and environmental performance arising from operation of an integrated GG Cluster, targeting the following outcomes:
Mobilising an increased supply of sustainable feedstocks to support GG production at scale, by (a) reviewing technical & sustainability issues arising from use of grass/herbaceous energy crops from non-food producing, marginal and agricultural lands; (b) developing methods that attract large scale supplies of low-cost animal slurries for co-processing; (c) reviewing adaptations of current waste management protocols/market structures/support frameworks that can increase the supply of low cost or gate-fee-generating feedstocks, as well as (d) integration of advanced thermal treatment (ATT) technologies capable of extracting additional GG energy from anaerobic digestion (AD) digestates and other feedstocks not normally associated with GG production;
Optimising the economic viability of GG production, improving process productivity and operating margins by (a) optimising the productivity of individual AD technologies; as well as (b) improving synergistic interaction between AD and thermal treatment technologies to improve mass conversion of feedstocks to saleable GG outputs generating economies of scale from aggregation of fragmented feedstock supplies; and (c) using waste heat efficiently to improve energy efficiency;
Review of strategies to improve routes to market and value of GG, targeting end user applications that (a) valorise the full energy value of GG, and (b) valorises GG in a manner that competes with the retail price of conventional energy products rather than the wholesale price of electricity, and (c) recovering and recycling nutrients in a commercially valuable form, maintaining revenue opportunities in the context of pressures to minimise state subventions for renewable energy; and
Development of data sets to inform and support an advocacy programme promoting adaptations of commercial frameworks, market structures and regulatory initiatives supporting deployment of GG processing infrastructure on a broad scale, facilitating sustainable production and wider utilisation of GG