| Project Detail |
Replacing fossil fuels on the farm
From producing fertilisers to packaging olives, farms rely too much on unsustainable fuels. Farmers in Belgium, Italy, Germany and Greece have teamed up to show that it is possible to reduce agriculture’s fossil fuel dependence and move towards the adoption of renewable energy sources. The team are part of the EU-funded RES4LIVE project, which will demonstrate the selected technologies, including PVT systems, PV panels, modular heat pumps, biogas upgrading to biomethane, biomethane-fuelled tractors and electrically powered on-farm machinery. The aim is to replace the use of fossil fuels for certain needs in the pilot farms, proving that it is possible to achieve sustainable farming that is efficient, cost effective and low maintenance.
The adaptation of RES technologies and machinery and their demonstration at a large-scale on farm level, require supporting measures with respect to spatial planning, infrastructure, different business models and market organisation, trends that are not all under control from a farmers’ perspective. RES4LIVE project will fill these gaps ensuring a wider adoption of RES and energy efficiency technologies, machinery and techniques in livestock farms towards a zero-fossil fuel consumption. A great part of RES4LIVE technical work deals with the adaptation of specific technologies for both renewable energy and biofuels so that to perfectly fit livestock farming and becoming attractive in terms of cost effectiveness, operational flexibility and with low maintenance. The key technologies include PVT systems, modular heat pumps, biogas upgrading to biomethane, and tractors retrofitting to be fuelled by biomethane. Except these technologies, standard RES and other solutions are included in the integrated energy system, such as the use of PV panels, geothermal energy, and electrification of on-farm machinery.
The RES4LIVE project emphasises on the demonstration of the selected technologies in 4 pilot farms in Belgium, Italy, Germany and Greece, for a duration of at least 12 months, to serve as the means of de-fossilising evidence and impact generation. The aim is to totally replace the fossil fuel consumption of certain needs in the pilot farms, proving that fossil-free-energy farming is possible to be achieved with a sustainable way. At the same time, the replicability potential is another key activity so that to prepare the commercialization process of the solutions. The overall objective is to provide advanced and cost-effective technologies to the livestock sector that ensure the sustainability of the farms’ operation, and the superior thermal comfort of the animals for increased productivity with minimum climate change impact. |
