BUGS THAT eat waste plastic and turn it into a more useful material; other bugs that remove excess phosphorous from water; sensors that can pick up pollution, smart filters that can remove metal contaminants at the nanoscale and even an energy-efficient eco-computer that’s made of reusable components and leaves virtually no carbon footprint.
They are all examples of “green” innovations arising from research in Ireland that were highlighted at the OECD Global Forum on Environment on Eco-Innovation in Paris earlier this week.
The invitation to address the international conference – which discussed policies to support eco-innovation and also the challenges of the economic crisis – arose through a report prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that outlines several of its academic and business-led initiatives to foster innovation for a green economy in Ireland, explained Dr Micheál Lehane, a programme manager with the EPA.
Since 2005, the EPA has invested around €30 million into academic research projects in Ireland relating to "environmental technologies" that include innovative approaches to monitor, protect and clean the environment, Lehane told Innovationbefore addressing the conference in France.
He also cited the industry-led Cleaner Greener Production Programme to encourage more environmentally friendly practices, for which the EPA has also provided funding.
“It’s about laying the foundations for a green economy,” said Lehane of the eco-innovation initiatives, which are outlined in the organisation’s Strive strategy covering 2007-2013. “At the core it is trying to deal with prioritising environmental issues and assisting in improving and developing new legislation for water and waste.”
From a business and ecological perspective, the green innovations can offer a win-win situation, according to Lehane.
He pointed out that EPA funding has helped to yield several patents in the field of environmental technologies, as well as a spin-out company, Bioplastech Ltd, based on a procedure developed by Dr Kevin O’Connor at University College Dublin that uses bacteria to convert waste plastic into a new, useful and compostable plastic.
Meanwhile, a project that saw capital investment of €1 million into a cleaner, greener scheme for 22 participating businesses resulted not only in a reduction in energy consumption and wastewater generation but also in total annual cost savings of €1.6 million for those businesses, added Lehane.
“It’s a good return on the investment, and in many cases we are seeing it also has the potential to have markets elsewhere.”
Through green economy initiatives, Ireland could provide a test-bed for new technologies and approaches to eco-innovation, said Lehane. “It helps people to identify priorities and chart the way forward.”
