UK: Workshop on smart use of CO2

GrowSave will organize an afternoon of presentations from industry experts that will answer these two key questions:

How do you use CO2 effectively and reduce waste?
What alternatives are there to be traditional "back of boiler" CO2?

The use of supplementary CO2 is a cornerstone of efficient production in the protected cropping sector, but there are increasing concerns both about cost and environmental issues where the CO2 is derived from fossil fuels. The speakers will explain how the latest research in the Netherlands and the UK are seeking a better understanding of plant responses to CO2 to ensure that CO2 is dosed at the best time and that as little as possible is lost through ventilation.

Main speakers

Arie De Gelder from Wageningen - Arie has worked in the field of greenhouse climate and energy saving since 2001. He was involved in the research for The Closed Greenhouse and has been involved in the development of Next Generation Growing since 2008. Recently, he has been working on a project to investigate growing tomatoes with limited CO2.
Ewan Gage from ADAS - Ewan joined ADAS in 2015 as a physiologist working in the protected edibles sector. His primary focus is interpreting how crop CO2 demand varies with growing conditions and over time, and how this impacts the efficiency of CO2 dosing. His work has contributed to project PE 021 for the AHDB.
Tim Pratt from Farm Energy Centre - Tim has worked at Farm Energy Centre since 1993. He is one of the leading experts in greenhouse control systems in the UK. Tim specialises in advising clients to buy and sell energy as profitably as possible, as well as how to manage their combined heat and power (CHP) and renewable electricity generation efficiently. An essential aspect of this work is to ensure efficient production and use of CO2.
Roly Holt - R&L Holt - R&L Holt is a family business originally formed in 1979 by Rick and Laura Holt and now included their son and daughter Roly and Felicity Holt. Energy is something that they constantly review to be more efficient and sustainable and currently use Combined Heat and Power and biogass from an Anaerobic Digester (AD) facility. They currently produce CO2 from the AD plant which is used to enrich the greenhouses, including a biomass boiler heated tomato greenhouse.
Rob Jones from Guy and Wright - Guy and Wright have been a family run business since 1928, now producing tomatoes. They were the first to use anaerobic digestion in the protected cropping sector in 2009. Since then, they have been recognised with awards for Grower of the Year (Business Initiative), ‘The Best Anaerobic Digestion’ at Energy Now and an invitation to a Buckingham Palace garden party.

Click here for more information.