BiofuelAi is a startup from the University of Surrey, and is one of ten finalists that have been shortlisted for the £1 million Manchester Prize. The Prize, funded by the Department for Science and Technology (DSIT), aims to reward UK-led artificial intelligence innovations such as those within the fields of energy, environment, infrastructure and net zero. The startup is working with a number of UK biogas companies to optimise anaerobic digester operations using machine learning.
BiofuelAi’s DNA originates with the EPSRC-funded project Artificial Intelligence Enabling Future Optimal Flexible Biogas Production for Net-Zero (AI4AD) which ran from April 2023 to Sept 2025 and was led by PI Dr Michael Short from the University of Surrey. EBNet Co-I and PISA WG Lead Prof Jhuma Sadhukhan (University of Surrey) and Dr Yongqiang Liu (University of Southampton) who leads EBNet’s AG WG were responsible for the project’s Life Cycle Analysis and for underpinning laboratory work, respectively. Dr Short and Prof Sadhukhan are also members of the AI/ML WG led by Dr Oliver Fisher and Prof Rachel Gomes of the University of Nottingham.
Further details on the AI4AD project can be found in the article Get Ready for the AI Boost in the Winter 2024 ADBA magazine, excerpted here. Details of the EPSRC funding are here and further information on BiofuelAi‘s entry to Manchester Prize can be found HERE.
BiofuelAi team from the University of Surrey, led by Dr Michael Short (on right):
