Early stage companies or university spinouts with a great business idea that will reduce waste and food surplus or make an agri-food process more efficient are being offered the opportunity to join the Eastern Agri-Tech Innovation Hub.
The hub is a purpose-built facility in the heart of Cambridgeshire, with a particular focus on fresh produce and field vegetables. It welcomes farmers and growers, food businesses, and other users wishing to engage in applied research work to reduce or re-use all forms of waste in the food supply chain and improve resource use efficiency in its production.
It offers a workspace with meeting rooms and office space at competitive rates. Members of the hub community are also given: support with funding applications; opportunities to be involved with NIAB projects; access to NIAB expertise, and networking with industry, growers, research and local government.
Research and trial activity managed by NIAB at the hub include:
- waste reduction — healthy soils, crop production, field and post harvest storage
- waste management — packing, processing and alternative uses and markets
- increase value or application potential for new products from waste streams
- identifying opportunities to recycle waste or generate energy and co-products
- target total and marketable field losses, due to weather, pests and diseases or other damage
- reduce loss of quality or specification in store due to crop physiology, disease or storage conditions.
The hub supports these and about 50 other businesses virtually, with workshops, events, grant and industry collaboration, funding and expertise. Some start-ups also have had physical space at the hub such as Aponic, AgriGrub, Celbius and Entomics.
- Celbius – producing a natural slug repellent from olive by-products which are left after producing olive oil. http://www.celbius.com/
- AgriGrub – uses the larvae of black soldier flies to turn food waste into high value outputs such as fish food, bio-oils and soil conditioner. (https://www.agrigrub.co.uk/)
- Comgoed is an Interreg 2 seas bioboost partner from the Netherlands) it produces wood pellets and chips from green residuals for large industrial biomass power plants as well as semi-industrial plants for farmers, gardeners and SMES.
For more information please call Denise Elliot on 01223 342227 or email denise.elliott@niab.com
Eastern Agri-Tech Innovation Hub & Bioboost
Hasse Fen, Hasse Road, Soham, Cambridgeshire CB7 5UW