WATCH: Major 9.7 million bioeconomy investment officially launched in Tipperary
Official opening of the new National Biorefinery Pilot Plant and and launch of the BioScaleUp Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative
A major investment in Ireland's growing bioeconomy has been officially launched at the National Bioeconomy Campus in Lisheen, Co Tipperary.
The National Biorefinery Pilot Plant is located on the site of the former Lisheen Zinc and Lead Mine which had been operational since 1997, it had employed around 400 people before closing in 2015 after the ore body was exhausted.
On Thursday June 25, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon officially opened the new National Biorefinery Pilot Plant and launched the BioScaleUp Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative.
Together, the two projects represent almost €9.7 million in funding from the Government of Ireland and the European Union and are aimed at helping researchers and businesses develop new products from biological materials.
The National Biorefinery Pilot Plant has received €4.7 million in funding, while the BioScaleUp initiative is backed by €5 million through the EU Just Transition Fund.
Speaking to the Tipperary Star about the new launch Ryan O’Meara TD said: “It is a great day for Lisheen, Moyne/Templetuohy and for all of Ireland. This will put Tipperary and Lisheen at the heart of the bio-economy and the circular economy.”
In a recent statement, TD Michael Lowry said: “Lisheen is a designated national project which, to date, has received almost €10 million in Government funding. The campus is a major success story economically, environmentally and socially. The site is home to a number of high-value companies. These companies are using innovative, cutting-edge technologies to grow and develop. This Government is fully committed to supporting ventures that will enable the centre to achieve its full potential.”
The new facilities will help researchers, start-ups, small businesses and industry turn materials from farming, food production and forestry that might otherwise go to waste into higher-value products such as food ingredients, sustainable packaging, biomaterials and renewable energy.
Opening the facility, Minister Heydon described the occasion as "a landmark day for the Irish bioeconomy."
He said: "These facilities will help take agricultural, food, forestry and other biobased side streams, often seen as waste, and turn them into new valuable products for sectors as diverse as food ingredients, bio-packaging and bioenergy."
He added that the new infrastructure would give researchers and businesses access to the equipment needed to develop new ideas into commercial products.
"This is about turning good ideas into real products, new value chains and new opportunities for rural and regional Ireland," he said.
The National Biorefinery Pilot Plant provides open-access pilot-scale facilities where researchers and companies can test and develop new bio-based products before bringing them to market.
Alongside the pilot plant, the BioScaleUp initiative will demonstrate six new technologies that convert renewable biological resources and by-products into products including food and feed ingredients, proteins, biomaterials, biomethane and other renewable energy applications.
The launch marks another significant step in the transformation of the former Lisheen Mine into a centre for green innovation, research and enterprise.
Among those who addressed the event were Anne Lanigan, Divisional Manager for Local Enterprise and Regions at Enterprise Ireland, Professor Kevin O'Connor, Director of the BiOrbic Bioeconomy Research Centre and Chairperson of the Irish Bioeconomy Foundation, Cathaoirleach of Tipperary County Council Cllr John Carroll, and Dr Ian Archer, Managing Director of James Hutton Institute Scientific Services.
Speaking at the launch, Anne Lanigan said Enterprise Ireland was "delighted to support the National Biorefinery Pilot Plant" and described it as "world class infrastructure" that would provide Irish businesses with direct access to facilities focused on bio-based innovation, circular economy solutions and sustainable processing.
Professor Kevin O'Connor said the pilot plant was "a product of the vision and determination that BiOrbic and the Irish Bioeconomy Foundation have developed for over a decade."
He added: "BiOrbic is proud to see the launch of the National Biorefinery Pilot Plant, marking a significant milestone in the scaling and translation of research into bio-based innovations."
Cllr John Carroll said the launch demonstrated that "rural Ireland can lead in addressing global challenges, from climate action to resource efficiency, while creating economic opportunities in our communities."
Dr Ian Archer stated the opening of the National Biorefinery Pilot Plant, together with progress at BioConnect in Co Monaghan, showed "exactly how serious Ireland is about backing its bioeconomy."
The BioScaleUp initiative is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the EU Just Transition Fund Programme 2021-2027 and is administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The National Biorefinery Pilot Plant is designed to support start-ups, SMEs and researchers in developing and scaling bio-based products. Clonmel-based MEDITE SMARTPLY is among the first companies to use the facility, with plans to explore converting wastewater from its manufacturing operations into biogas and bioplastics.
Other innovative businesses based at the National Bioeconomy Campus include biotechnology company NaringTech and The Revive Group, which operates its Revive Eco Park from the site.
The campus is managed by the Irish Bioeconomy Foundation and works in partnership with Tipperary County Council, University College Cork, University College Dublin's BiOrbic Research Centre and Technological University of the Shannon to support the growth of Ireland's bioeconomy sector.