Grow Green Burn Blue

Exploring waste biomass and how it could be used for district heating.

2024
Picture of leaves growing through biomass pellets.

About the project

The Grow Green Burn Blue project, funded through the SEAI RD&D programme and led by Dowmann Ltd, looks to explore the potential for bioenergy in Ireland to support renewable heating. The lead partners Dowmann, in collaboration with MTU, will explore:

  1. A trial biomass production machine, to transform waste biomass sources into standardised physical outputs and
  2. Chemically profile the biomass to help best understand its potential applications and uses. 

Codema’s role in the project is to assess the renewable heat potential of this biomass source for district heat networks, comparing it to other energy sources, and to individual heat pumps, across different density developments.

This project completed in 2024, finding that individual heat pumps may present a more cost-effective solution for any residential development up to a density of 25, regardless of the source. However, district heating options outperform individual heat pumps in terms of costs for developments larger than this.

Project aims

Determine the scale at which a communal heat network provides a more cost-effective, low-carbon heat solution than individual heat pumps for developments of different density in dwellings per hectare
Identify policy barriers to the use of these biofuels in DHC networks

Project team

Project Lead

John O’Shea

Senior Energy Systems Analyst / Heat and Electricity Lead

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01 707 9818 Read John O’Shea’s Bio

Kieran Donohue

Energy Systems Graduate

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01 707 9818 Read Kieran Donohue’s Bio

Project partners and funders