World's biomass experts gather in Aberystwyth

Some of the conference attendees visiting IBERS research plots at Aberystwyth University

International biomass experts have gathered at Aberystwyth University to discuss the crops’ potential to decarbonise agriculture and other industries.

Energy crops and biomass can supply bioenergy, pharmaceutical products, green manufacturing and building materials, contributing to reaching net zero targets.

Delegates from Japan, the United States, Germany and the Canary Islands were among the attendees of the prestigious conference of the Association of Applied Biologists at the University.

As part of the events held over three days, the attendees visited facilities at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) in Gogerddan, including the National Plant Phenomics Centre, the internationally important seed biobank and a range of biomass crops in field trials.

Professor Iain Donnison, Head of IBERS at Aberystwyth University, said:

"It is a pleasure to welcome so many experts from all over the world to Aberystwyth. Biomass and energy crops are becoming an increasingly important part of tackling climate change given the weight of the crisis. The field has expanded significantly over recent years with a number of important research programs being established recently.

“This conference has an important objective, namely to bring together International researchers to share learnings between the crops, to exchange ideas and foster closer collaboration, and to thereby ensure that biomass and energy crops can fulfil their potential for people and planet.

Dr Gerry Tuskan, Director and CEO of the Centre for Bioenergy Innovation at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States, who attended the conference, added:

"It has been a pleasure to visit Aberystwyth and discuss these important crops. It was particularly nice to see so many different biomass crops side by side on the Biomass Connect demonstrator site. Whilst many academics work on just one of the crops, what is important to potential growers is to be able to compare and contrast the options available to them."

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