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Bio-Energy

Swan Centre research on bio-energy spans the whole supply chain from growing novel feedstocks (various biomass crops, algae), processing them in novel ways, converting them into fuels and chemical feedstocks and developing new engines to use the products.

We seek to consolidate biofuels research through translational research activities focusing on:

  • refining and promoting current or near-market technologies that can be applied efficiently or effectively at relatively small scales in northern and western Europe and  similar agro-climatic zones worldwide;
  • the insertion of biotechnology into the development of environmentally sustainable, truly low-carbon ‘second generation’ biofuels, produced both from non-edible crops suited to production on otherwise marginal land in all climate zones, and from the organic matter in municipal waste;
  • the development of an unique large-scale molecular biology characterisation facility, to provide metagenomics/metaproteomics support to the energy and environment sector nationwide;
  • pioneering some of the first large-scale technologies ever devised for directly removing CO2 from the atmosphere and trapping it in permanent stores in organic sediments.

Research Areas  

Bio-Energy Network News

The first meeting of the Swan Bio-Energy Network was held in July 2010. Documents from that meeting can be downloaded here (internal access only).