A project to facilitate more planting of the perennial bioenergy crop, miscanthus, has been awarded over £3.3M in funding through the second phase of the government’s Biomass Feedstocks Innovation Programme, to contribute to 2050 net zero targets.

Miscanthus specialist, Terravesta, has been successful in its bid to secure Phase 2 funding for its OMENZ project which stands for ‘Optimising Miscanthus Establishment through improved mechanisation and data capture to meet Net Zero targets’.

OMENZ will deliver improvements on the entire miscanthus establishment process, including approaches to producing planting material, field preparation, innovative agri-tech, new planting techniques, and cutting-edge technologies to monitor establishment in the field.

Terravesta’s science and technology director, Dr Michael Squance, says that miscanthus is important for our net zero targets. “The Climate Change Committee’s Sixth Carbon Budget report states that to reach net zero, 700,000ha of bioenergy crops need to be planted by 2050 – that’s 30,000ha a year starting in 2030.

Peer reviewed study

“The first dedicated, peer reviewed study into miscanthus life cycles shows that the above ground biomass grows annually and recycles all the carbon that’s been produced through planting, harvesting, and burning the crop for renewable electricity, and at the same time, the underground rhizome and decaying leaf litter fixes and stores net 0.64t of carbon (2.35t CO2e) per ha, each year as it grows,” says Mike.

“The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is funding projects like ours through NZIP, the ‘Net Zero Innovation Portfolio’ and it’s our aim to increase the scale and quality of miscanthus establishment in the UK,” he says. “In Phase 1 of the project, we analysed field preparation, machinery, technology and planting techniques to identify areas which can deliver gains, efficiency and cost reduction. We started Phase 2 of the project in mid-2022 and will trial and develop innovative techniques to improve miscanthus planting and establishment.”

Commercially viable innovations

The Biomass Feedstocks Innovation Programme was launched in 2021 by BEIS to enable organisations, including start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises, to develop research projects that will deliver commercially viable innovations in biomass production. Phase 2 will run until March 2025 to demonstrate the innovative new methods tested.

Dr Jason Kam, Terravesta’s head of R&D, says: “There are four areas of focus for OMENZ, the first is planting material production preparation, which will improve on the quality of the rhizomes when they come out of the nursery, look at miscanthus seed development, and test biological treatments and crop nutrition to help the plants to grow better.

“The second focus area is site preparation, where we will look at retaining moisture, reducing tillage and improving soil health,” he adds. “Streamlining planting processes is an exciting part of the project, where agri-tech will be used to plant more crops in a shorter space of time. And lastly, establishment monitoring will test drone agronomy, remote sensing and data capture, to improve crop performance.”

Other projects

Terravesta was among 12 other projects to be awarded the funding in Phase 2, and partners in OMENZ include CHAP, Cranfield University, Energene Seeds, Liverpool John Moores University, TJSS, University of Lincoln, Ystumtec. Long-term partner of Terravesta, Aberystwyth University, has also been successful in getting funding for its breeding programme.