MTU launches Ireland’s first pilot biorefinery in Kerry
(Left to right) Adam Mulcahy, Joanna Przyborksa, Jagdeep Kumar Nayak, James Gaffey and co-director of CircBio Group, CABR, MTU, Paddy Fitzgerald at the new MTU biorefinery set up on the Kerry campus. Photo: Domnick Walsh / Eye Focus LTD
A new pilot green biorefinery has launched on the Munster Technological University (MTU) Kerry campus.
The biorefinery marks an important milestone in Ireland’s move towards sustainable agriculture and a circular bioeconomy. The facility will develop technologies that convert the country’s grasslands into a range of products, including high-quality animal feeds, human-grade protein, prebiotics, flavours and bioenergy.
The grass biorefinery plant was funded by Enterprise Ireland in collaboration with the Centre for Applied BioSciences Research (CABR) Technology Gateway.
It builds on MTU’s ongoing research projects such as Rural BioReFarmeries and Biorefinery Glas led by the Circular Bioeconomy Research Group (CircBio), which showed that protein can be extracted from grass, clover and green leaves to feed cattle and pigs while producing additional high-value products.
The results that have been proven include the use of grass biorefinery press cake as a suitable forage for cows and the co-production of high-quality protein concentrates for pigs and poultry.
MTU’s new Kerry campus facility will allow the university to take its innovation to the next level ahead of a 2026 launch of a demonstration-scale green biorefinery and anaerobic digestion facility at Farm Zero C, Shinagh Farm, Bandon, Co Cork, which MTU is developing in partnership with University College Dublin (UCD) and Carbery Group.
Speaking about the new pilot biorefinery, principal investigator for Green Biorefinery Research based at MTU, James Gaffey, said: “As the only country in Europe with more than 50% grassland, Ireland is uniquely positioned to play a leading role in the development of green biorefining.
"This new pilot facility is the first of its kind in Ireland, and complements our excellent track record of research in this space. It offers a great platform for us to scale this research and test these innovation opportunities with industry.”
Ireland currently imports around three million tonnes of animal feed concentrates every year, including almost a million tonnes of soybean meal. Most of it comes from South America, is linked with deforestation, and has long-distance transport emissions.
MTU research also shows that grass protein concentrate can have up to five times lower climate impact than soybean meal. This innovation offers farmers a locally produced alternative at a time when agricultural inputs such as feed, fertiliser, and energy have increased by around 75% over the past seven years.
MTU have also recently secured funding to expand capacity and scale operations, including:
- co-ordination of the €8.7m EU-wide CBE-JU-funded Rural BioReFarmeries project;
- collaboration with UCD, Carbery and other partners on the €6.1m Horizon Europe EMBEDED project;
- and funding through MTU’s TU RISE programme for the green biorefinery scale-up project DOT.GREEN.
These initiatives will aim to drive innovation in grass processing across both sites and position Ireland at the forefront of Europe’s green biorefinery movement.
VP of Research at MTU, Hugh McGlynn, said: “This scale-up of MTU’s green biorefinery research activity is a landmark moment for MTU and for Ireland. It shows our commitment to working with partners across the country and Europe to find solutions that genuinely benefit farmers, the environment and the community.
MTU will continue to work closely with a wide range of Irish partners, including UCD, Carbery Group, Premier Green Energy, Barryroe Cooperative, Carhue Piggeries, BiOrbic and a growing network of industry and research partners.
The investment in green biorefinery research infrastructure is supported by Enterprise Ireland and the Department of Agriculture.
