Irish researchers are taking part in a multi-million euro project aiming to reduce dependency on fossil-based fertiliser imports.
Europe is currently importing over 6 million tonnes of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertiliser annually.
The ReNu2Cycle project’s overall objective is to reduce northwest Europe’s reliance on these imports through the increased use of recycling derived fertilisers (RDFs).
The research will examine impacts on availability, ecological footprint, supply chain and price stability through the use of recycled N, P and K fertiliser from municipal, industrial, agricultural, food, business waste and other agricultural sources.
Fertiliser
The project is funded through the Interreg North-West Europe programme with a total project value of €4.9 million, €3 million of which is sourced from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
In Ireland, the research will be carried out by Munster Technological University (MTU), South East Technological University (SETU), University of Limerick (UL) and Teagasc.
They will be joined by partners across Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
The researchers will look to adapt regional best-practices for north west Europe through the innovative use of living lab concepts across all aspects of the project’s research.
The future use of RDF will be maximised by creating innovative fertiliser blends and business solutions for producers’ portfolios including sustainability assessment.
The RDFs will be blended, prototyped and demonstrated on farms within the project’s regions to assess their suitability for adoption by farmers across the region.
The results will be combined into a strategy and regional action plans to help countries to grow the bioeconomy and maximise the use of recycled fertilisers.
Researchers
Researchers from MTU’s Sustainable Infrastructure Research and Innovation Group (SIRIG) will be involved in stakeholder and sustainability engagement, developing a comprehensive life cycle assessment, and creating an inventory of recycling-derived fertilisers.
This work will build on the ReNu2Farm project which provided basic and regional quantified fertiliser demand research.
Dr. Niamh Power, who is leading ReNu2Cycle’s research for MTU, said:
“With more focus than ever on sustainable agriculture, recycling derived fertilisers can play their part in reducing the impact of the farming sector while contributing to food security. RDFs are the future.”