How farmers and the rest of us deal with greenhouse gas emmissions is one of the most pressing issues of our time.
It’s a problem that two Irish start ups are trying to resolve and both companies have just received European backing for their work.
The pair are included in the European Commission announcement that 64 European start-ups and SMEs will be awarded €307m in funding to support the development of their innovations and the scaling of their companies.
Irish companies NVP Energy Limited (Mullingar) is to receive funding for its Ambi-Robic technology for treating municipal sewage wastewater, and GlasPort Bio Limited (Galway) which is to receive funding for its GasAbate N+ technology for removing greenhouse gas emissions from animal manure. Stored manures account for 16% of all GHG emissions from EU agriculture.
The EIC Accelerator pilot supports high risk, high potential SMEs and innovators to help them develop and bring onto the market new innovative products, services and business models that could drive economic growth. All grant awards are subject to the completion of grant agreements.
Speaking following today’s announcement, Garrett Murray, National Director for Horizon 2020 at Enterprise Ireland said: “Today’s announcement is a great news for these companies and is testament to their scalability. This announcement provides significant funding to support these companies to bring their innovations to market and achieve their global ambition.
“To date Irish companies and researchers have been awarded in excess of € €987.1m in funding under Horizon 2020. There continues to be many opportunities for Irish enterprises and researchers under the EIC with the remaining call deadline on October 7th and across the Horizon 2020 Programme. Calls for proposals under the European Green Deal, worth circa €1bn will also be issued in the autumn.”
Following the announcement, Ruari Friel CEO of GlasPort Bio noted that the company, “is delighted to be awarded €2.5m from the EIC Accelerator program. This is a highly prestigious scheme and acts as a major validation for our company and product. This shall have a transformative effect on our company, providing the funding to allow us to complete final stage development of our innovative product, greatly accelerating our path to market and allowing us to grow and achieve our goals”.
Next Tuesday, July 28th Enterprise Ireland will host a webinar offering expert advice on the application process and how best to approach preparing an application for the EIC October deadline. All are welcome and you can register here in advance.
Enterprise Ireland is encouraging all Irish researchers and innovators to look at the remaining opportunities under the Programme and to contact their National Contact Points in Enterprise Ireland and across the Horizon 2020 national support network for information, guidance and expert support in evaluating opportunities and making applications.
Hard to beat free money!
