With our climate at crisis point, and an urgent need to secure long-term , reliable sources of renewable energy, Future Biogas is pioneering the UK’s first unsubsidised renewable energy production project - “Project Carbon Harvest”. The project will produce biomethane (green gas) from the anaerobic digestion of locally grown energy crops, grown using sustainable and regenerative practices. Future Biogas recognises the need to balance food production with energy security, therefore the feedstock for Project Carbon Harvest will be grown as break crops as part of high-quality food production rotations.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) removed from the atmosphere by growing energy crops will be captured and stored following the anaerobic digestion process for permanent geological sequestration under the North Sea. Over time, this will result in a net reduction of CO2 (the largest contributing greenhouse gas to global warming) in the atmosphere.

The environmental focus of Project Carbon Harvest does not stop there. Future Biogas’ plants will provide opportunities to local farmers and growers to diversify, decarbonise their farms, gradually rebuild the health and resilience of their soils and enhance the natural ecosystem services of their surrounding natural environment. This encompasses the return of organic matter and key plant nutrients back to the soil through applications of digestate, whilst displacing reliance on traditional fertilisers made with fossil fuels.

Our farmers will be paid a premium to grow bioenergy feedstock using sustainable farming practices. We define this as:

• Minimising soil disturbance

• Protecting soils from erosion

• Reducing diesel use

• Substituting artificial fertilisers and reducing chemical inputs

• Building natural resilience through more diverse crop rotations

Project Carbon Harvest will therefore support farmers in the transition to more regenerative land practices, encouraging the custodianship of UK soils whilst boosting biodiversity and wildlife on farm.

The commercial outputs of Project Carbon Harvest are:

1. Biomethane - a direct substitute for fossil natural gas capable of tackling scope 1 emissions

2. Bio-CO2 - a source of carbon derived from the atmosphere which can either be used for industrial purposes, or when permanently stored in geological reservoirs, generates high integrity GHG removals.

For full information on how we partner with ambitious businesses looking to tackle their carbon emissions, please visit our Journey to Net Zero page.

If you'd like to read about Project Carbon Harvest in practice, you can also read about our partnership with AstraZeneca.

While currently UK-focused, Future Biogas is investigating opportunities to expand Project Carbon Harvest into the Republic of Ireland.