Study visits are a great opportunity to showcase examples of biobased solutions on the ground through visiting sites that are implemeting them. RuralBioUp regional hubs organise study visits to allow stakeholders to discover more about biobased solutions and benefits obtained from them by on-site visits and also allows the stakeholders to network, exchange best practices and establish collaborations including within value chains. RuralBioUp partners aim to invite those not already involved in the regional hubs to take part in the study visits to also learn more about the project. Each regional hub will organise two study visits during the RuralBioUp project.
Irish Bioeconomy Foundation (IBF) is the facilitator the Irish Hub and lead for the Study Visits task. IBF have organised three study visits as part of RuralBioUp which have differed in content and participants.
Discovering Italy’s Bioeconomy organised by IBF and SPRING Cluster was the first study visit of the project which help set a framework for the other partners to implement. The visit took place in Northern Italy over three days and included visitin the SPRING office in Milan for an introduction to the cluster and the ongoing work in the Italian bioeconomy. The group of 13 Irish stakeholders then travelled to bioeconomy sites in Novara and Turin. Discover more here.
Mainstreaming Small Scale Biorefineries was a study visit organised by Irish Bioeconomy Foundation (RuralBioUp partner), Munster Technology University (Mainstream BIO partner) and CAP Network Ireland. The event was to showcase examples of small-scale biorefineries in operation in Ireland. The event started with a study visit to the National Bioeconomy Campus in Tipperary for a tour of the pilot scale facilities. The group then proceeded to Green Generation in Kildare that uses anaerobic digestion to convert agriculture and food waste into bioenergy. They also use innovative technology to convert waste plastics into higher value products.
Decarbonising Opportunities: The Role of Bioeconomy was a full-day event that took place in Tipperary, Ireland during Bioeconomy Ireland Week October 2024. The event aimed at providing County Councils in Ireland information and opportunities to include bioeconomy in their climate action and decarbonisation plans. The study visit included presentations from Irish Bioeconomy Foundation and Tipperary County Council on initiatives that they have collaborated on to grow the bioeconomy in Tipperary including RuralBioUp. The stakeholders then had a tour of the pilot scale facilities at the National Bioeconomy Campus.
