NUI Galway has launched a new laboratory to research the generation of biofuels from organic waste. Professor Piet Lens, a leading expert in environmental biotechnology, will lead a team of 25 PhD and post-doctoral researchers in the university's Department of Microbiology Programme, ‘Innovative Energy Technologies for Bioenergy, Biofuels and a Sustainable Irish Bioeconomy’. Besides hi-tech solutions, nature-based technologies will also be developed with the aim of tackling socio-environmental challenges such as climate change, water security, water pollution, food security and human health. Professor Lens said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for NUI Galway to develop new technologies that transform wastewater and waste into energy and bio-commodities. The investment of Science Foundation Ireland in this area is a response to the nation’s Climate Action Plan and ambitions to become a self-sustainable island for energy, where renewable biofuels are generated out of our wastes.”

Source: Irish Examiner April 12, 2019 10:52 UTC