Overview

Organisations can apply for a share of £1 million, inclusive of VAT. This will be to develop products or services that reduce the volume of harmful pollutants entering the atmosphere as a result of agricultural practices.

Scope

This is a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition funded by Welsh Government.

The aim of this competition is to develop products or services that can help reduce harmful pollutants in the atmosphere resulting from agricultural practices that generate ammonia, including from anaerobic digestion.

What is ammonia (NH3) and why is it an issue?

Atmospheric ammonia is a primary pollutant emitted by agricultural activities (93% in Wales) and, to a lesser extent, by transport and industry. Most of the ammonia comes from the natural breakdown of manure, dead plants and animals. Agricultural soils in the UK contain little plant-available nitrogen, hence the need for supplementary nitrogen fertilisers and organic manures. Not all the nitrogen is taken up by plants. Large amounts of it (around 50%) are lost to the environment as a pollutant. When NH3 reacts with the atmosphere and is breathed in, it damages the respiratory and cardiovascular systems in people and animals. When NH3 falls on the landscape, it can acidify soils and freshwaters, over-fertilising natural plant communities. The percentage of Welsh land where ammonia concentrations exceed critical levels (a way of measuring the concentration of ammonia in the air) has grown by 12% in the past 10 years. It means that 69% of Welsh land now doesn’t allow lichens and ancient woodlands to exist healthily.

Ammonia emissions are subject to international and national legal obligations and targets to reduce emissions and regional transboundary pollution. Since 2005, NH3 emissions in Wales have grown by 8%. The trend is for the emissions to keep increasing.  The cattle industry in Wales is responsible for about 70% of agricultural ammonia emissions (Clean Air Plan for Wales, 2020) and about 45% is directly from the dairy sector.

Eligibility

This is a Phase 2 competition aimed at demonstration, therefore applicants are required to have an existing working prototype of their technology which is in operation on preferably more than 1 farm or agricultural business in Wales. Applicants will also need to demonstrate that their technology takes into account potential pollution swapping and cost – effectiveness for farmers.

Your solution must either prevent emissions of ammonia, extract it from the air or reduce deposition onto sensitive habitats. This can include demonstrating, piloting, testing and validation of new, emerging or improved products, processes or services in relevant environments. The primary objective is to validate ammonia emissions reductions in products, processes or services that are near-to-market.

Your Phase 2 project must:

• Assemble a robust evidence pack that demonstrates ammonia emissions reductions. For example, the proposed technology will demonstrate a reduction of ammonia emissions by 20% for the duration of the project/experiment at the farm level. Evidence packs are to be of a standard suitable for consideration by the UK Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas inventories requirements.
• Include sufficient capability and capacity to assemble the testing and validation evidence. Ideally, project applications will include scientific/academic subcontractors who have the required experience and facilities to undertake necessary site and laboratory testing and evaluation.
• Demonstrate that the technology takes into account potential pollution swapping. Pollution swapping should be investigated, described and mitigated. Please include measurable effects on Greenhouse Gas such as carbon and methane emissions, as well as phosphorous.