Category: <span>News</span>

A word to our funders – make sure your views are known

EBNet’s Director Prof Sonia Heaven will give a short talk on our Network to representatives of BBSRC in Southampton on 3 June 2026. This is an opportunity to share your thoughts on key issues for Environmental Biotechnology, and/or ideas for this and other UKRI-funded Networks. We plan to include preliminary …

Dr Clare Lukehurst – a Champion of Anaerobic Digestion

Dr Clare Lukehurst has recently been recognised by an entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Although the text is behind a paywall, it’s very gratifying to see her remarkable life and contributions acknowledged in this way. Dr Lukehurst acted for many years as the UK representative for IEA …

IBioIC Feasibility Funding call – EOI deadline 11 May 2026

Deadline: 11 May 2026 for Expressions of Interest The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) Feasibility Call invites industry-led applications for research projects in collaboration with academia, from businesses with a foothold in Scotland or a plan to deliver inward investment to stimulate Scotland’s economy. Funding available is between ÂŁ20k-ÂŁ40k at …

UK Fertilising Product Regulations: consultation on regulatory reform  

The UK Government, including Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland branches, is running a public consultation and call for evidence on the impact of proposed modifications to existing legislation in the UK Fertilising Product Regulations (UK FPR). The online consultation covers rules on manufacturing and marketing of fertilisers, but does not …

Future plans for the PFAS WG – and a new review paper

A recent review paper seeks to consolidate and summarise current knowledge on the sources and distribution of PFAS, their environmental impacts, and the challenges associated with remediation. The authors, who include members of the PFAS WG, emphasize that detection and characterisation remains problematic. Regulatory control is complicated by the diversity …

Do we need a war to make the case for biomethane?

While Governments struggle to respond to short-term price swings and more lasting uncertainties on global energy supplies, the renewable energy sector is pressing the case for diversification and reduced reliance on fossil fuel resources. The UK’s Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) has issued a special Newsletter for members, with …

Better Water 4 All Network – first Flexible Funding call

Deadline: 1 May 2026 The Better Water for All Network+ (BW4A) Is calling for collaborative, cross-disciplinary research proposals to be submitted to its first Flexible Fund Call. The Network’s themes are: Theme 1: Systems Approaches for Water Engineering Theme 2: Pollutant Measurement, Monitoring and Risks Theme 3: Engineering innovation and …

A Dirty Business?

Reactions to Dirty Business, the new Channel 4 Docudrama on sewage pollution, suggest the UK water industry is in for another heavy battering.  After the 3-episode series aired on 23 Feb 2026 it has received extensive coverage on all major press and media outlets, from BBC News to Woman and …

Off-grid AD for cold regions – ongoing collaboration

In March 2024, EBNet supported Prof Tom Curtis and Angela Bywater to attend a meeting on anaerobic digestion (AD) in remote and off-grid applications, hosted by the US National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and funded by NATO Science for Peace and Security (NATO SPS): see here for more details of …

PFAS monitoring and removal – and PFAS WG news

This month, the EU introduced mandatory systematic monitoring requirements for per and polyfluoroalkyl-substances (PFAS) in drinking water, aimed at promoting compliance with new limit values in the revised EU Drinking Water Directive (2024/2184). The new limits are 0.5 µg/L for total PFAS and 0.1 µg/L for the sum of 20 …

IEA Task 37 meeting – and potential EBNet inputs?

Last week, EBNet director Prof Sonia Heaven took part in an IEA Task 37 meeting that was timed to coincide with the triennial Central European Biomass conference in Graz, Austria. The plan was to network with participants on behalf of a number of EBNet’s groups, but this fell through when …