b'PARTNER CONTENTAs Europe Struggles, Plant Breeders Come to the Rescue to Produce Biogas BREEDING SPECIFIC PLANT VARIETIES THAT INCREASE EUROPES ENERGY RESILIENCET he Ukraine-Russia conflict has once againor a good fermentable cell wall, says Oliverand convert them into direct income for the shown that Europe is highly dependentBecker, corn Market Manager (International),farmer.on external gas suppliers. Recently theBusiness Line Corn & Sorghum at Lidea.The company has also developed European Commission announced that it hadLidea develops a multi-crops strategybiogas sorghum varieties that can be sown doubled its objective for home-grown biom- that are carefully adapted to the needs ofas a secondary crop. In good conditions, sor-ethane production to 35 billion cubic metresfarmers and the various outlets. And whatghum can produce more than 7,000 m3/ha of per year by 2030. The aim is to increase EUsis unique for our company, is that we startedmethane, says Guedj. As secondary crop, it resilience regarding the ongoing and increas- breeding cover crops that are suitable foris important that such a sorghum variety has ing energy crisis, putting a heavy strain onbiogas production. With that we were the firsta high drought tolerance because of the late households and farmers. seed company that started such activity, backdate of sowing. in 2012, adds Antoine Bedel, forages and WHAT IS BIOGAS ANDcover crops Technical Manager. ADDITIONAL BENEFITSBIOMETHANE? The fermentation process leaves a fer-Biogas is a high-energy gaseous mixtureBENEFITS FOR THE FARMER mentation product that can be used as an that is produced from the decomposition ofThere are several benefits for the farmer toorganic fertilizer and soil improver, useful in organic materials, in the absence of oxygen,grow crops for biogas production. It is costthe agricultural, landscaping, horticultural also known as anaerobic digestion. Thiscompetitive, and among the renewableand gardening sectors. It has all the nutri-process takes place in biogas facilities toenergy sources, biogas is one of the mostents, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potas-produce biogas from biologically degra- stable, because you dont rely on wind orsium, and the organic carbon. This means dable material. The material is fermentedthe sun. that the use of these fermentation products in hermetically sealed fermentation tanks,From a climate change and environmen- closes the natural nutrient cycle and can into biogas. The result is a blend of gases:tal perspective, growing sorghum for biogasreplace part of the mineral fertilizer. 40-75 vol% methane (CH4) and 25-55 vol%is great, because sorghum needs less water, carbon-dioxide (CO 2 ). If biogas is upgraded,will continue to grow even at temperaturesMORE BIOGAS FACILITIES biomethane is obtained. This is a purifiedabove 40C and needs less inputs than mostNEEDEDform of raw biogas that can be used as aother crops, shares Frederic Guedj, sorghumA few years back, Europe made some natural gas substitute. Market Development Manager at Lidea. good and rapid progress with regards to Bedel indicates that between the twobiogas production and building biogas PLANT BREEDING FOR BIOGAS main crops, the soil is available and could befacilities, but there are not enough Several seed companies have started dec- an opportunity to grow a cover crop. Therebiogas facilities throughout the continent. ades ago with the breeding of biogas spe- are two advantages with this: first, the coverLets hope this new decision of the EU cific varieties. One of such companies, Lidea,crop will provide multi-services like a reduc- Commission will boost that, because it is started already in the early 2000s. For corn,tion of nitrogen leaching, soil structuration,a win-win for the farmer, the energy sector the company selects varieties that are highcarbon catching and flowers for pollinators.and the environment. Biogas is one of the in biomass production and show other goodAnd the cover crop will produce biomass totools to increase the European independ-agronomic characteristics, but also have aproduce biogas. In this way, biogas coverency on energy and Lidea will take part in good biogas quality, with a high crude fat,crops produce agri-environmental benefitsthis challenge, says Becker. EUROPEAN-SEED.COMIEUROPEAN SEED I 35'