Five companies have been awarded a total of £250,000 to develop practical, economical and environmentally-friendly solutions for poultry layer manure in Northern Ireland.

A key aim is to reduce surplus phosphorus and ensure efficient, sustainable nutrient management while unlocking new economic opportunities within agriculture.

The five companies have each been awarded up to £50,000 to develop this work and are expected to complete their projects by March 2026.

The companies are:

Centre for Competitiveness (NI) Ltd - RECLAIM - Recovery and Enhancement of Chicken Litter for Agricultural and Industrial Materials;
DUNDY Ltd - In Vessel Aerobic Digestion (IVAD) of Layer Poultry Manure;
Forged Innovation Ltd - NIPEX - Nutrient Immobilisation and Preservation for Export;
STREAM Bioenergy UK Ltd - Layer Manure as a Biogas Feedstock;
Valoriworld B.V. - Decentralized Pasteurization and Processing Units (DPPU) for Layer Manure Valorization with Export Platform.

Funding is being provided by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) through a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) managed by the Strategic Investment Board and the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise.

The SBRI funding will be used by the companies to create practical and economically-viable models where layer manure can be processed with minimal nitrogen and methane losses.

This is to produce feedstock which can be used to produce energy and/or the nutrients will be suitably processed to provide a replacement for artificial fertiliser for use in Northern Ireland or suitable for export.

Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir said: “I warmly welcome the selection of five innovative companies to take forward phase 1 of the Sustainable Utilisation of Layer Manure SBRI.

"This marks an important step in tackling nutrient challenges within the poultry sector and complements our ongoing work under the Sustainable Utilisation of Livestock Slurry programme and other SBRIs related to Lough Neagh.

"Together, these programmes demonstrate our commitment to supporting practical, scalable solutions that protect our environment, enhance water quality and support our green economy in Northern Ireland.”