Tag: bordnamona

Bord na Móna’s Accelerate Green programme will see €5million investment over the next three years

Bord na Móna has revealed the eight new companies who have been selected to take part in the second year of Accelerate Green. The participating companies are NanobOx, Hibra Design, HaPPE Earth, Hub360, Superfy, Trinity Green Energy, EC Charging and CW Applied Technology. Bord na Móna’s Accelerate Green programme is Ireland’s leading sustainability programme designed to scale-up companies who are developing products and services based on green innovation in response to climate action and sustainability challenges. The current cohort of businesses employ over 70 people with turnover of more than €5million.

Bord na Móna has also committed to a further €5million investment in the Accelerate Green Programme over the next three years which will support more than 50 companies to scale up. A significant 15% of this will be invested in targeting new companies to apply to Accelerate Green with a particular emphasis on identifying Midlands based companies.

The companies participating in the Accelerate Green programme include NanobOx, a novel water treatment technology and winner of this year’s Big Ideas competition for tech start-ups run by Enterprise Ireland. They are developing a novel water treatment technology providing a highly energy-efficient method of oxygenating water as well as a chemical-free cleaning and sanitisation process using nanobubbles.

Hibra Design is an automotive design engineering company. They reengineer off-highway, speciality vehicles by removing the diesel powertrain and developing bespoke sustainable alternative systems such Battery Electric or Hydrogen Fuel Cell powertrains. This helps operators to reduce operational costs and increase productivity while providing healthier working environments.

HaPPE Earth have designed an innovative, fully compostable, medical grade apron using bioplastics as sustainable alternative for healthcare providers.  The single use apron disappears in approximately eight weeks and was a winner in the 2022 Health Innovation Hub Ireland awards. Currently only 10% of global healthcare waste is recycled. If the Irish health service removed single use plastic aprons, it would mean a reduction in plastic waste of 500 tons of plastic each year.

 Other companies include:

  • Hub360, a software platform that optimises logistics (incl. reducing carbon emissions) and deliveries for companies that use their own delivery fleet or third-party hauliers to deliver their goods. HUB360 is generating monthly recurring revenues, and revenue by delivering enhanced functionality and more modules over time into the same clients.
  • Superfy who deliver sustainable smart resource management solutions for companies for sustainability, waste, recycling, operations, workforce and fleet management.
  • Trinity Green Energy, who specialise in the capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
  • EC Charging who design, develop, build, install and maintain smart EV charging systems.
  • CW Applied Technology,  a dynamic electronic business based in Shannon, Ireland.

Speaking at the launch, Tom Donnellan, CEO of Bord na Móna said. “At Bord na Mona we understand the role mentorship and partnership will play in achieving the vision of a climate neutral Ireland by 2050. Of the 17 companies who have already come through Accelerate Green, we have established a working partnership with six companies and facilitated ten to scale up, secure more funding, diversify their business and provide more climate focussed roles in the Midlands.

This new cohort of companies just beginning the programme represent the critical pipeline of potential new enterprises operating in the sustainability space or looking to transition to become a climate solutions company, a journey we have been on ourselves since 2018. We are committed to sharing our knowledge with these enterprises as they progress through the Accelerate Green programme, collaborating to ensure the organisations can scale up and become leaders in their own right with the support of Bord na Móna.”

Keynote speaker at the launch, Julie Sinnamon, Member of the Climate Change Advisory Council said, “I have been really inspired and impressed by the calibre of companies participating in this year’s Accelerate Green Programme. Great entrepreneurial and innovative businesses need the support of programmes such as Accelerate Green to make sure that they can scale up and thrive. It is their success that will drive Ireland forward to achieve the transition to a low carbon, climate resilient and environmentally sustainable economy.”

Accelerate Green will be located at Bord na Móna’s existing office complex in Boora, Co Offaly. It has been developed in in conjunction with Irish innovation advisory firm Resolve Partners and ERINN Innovation.

Speaking at the launch, Alan Costello from Resolve Partners said; “Collectively, the eight companies on the programme employ 70 people and have raised funding of over €5 million to-date. Graduation from Bord na Móna’s Accelerate Green will open doors for further growth as it has for their predecessors. We have exciting innovations with this round of participants and this accelerator will help them deliver measurable impact and support sustainable economic development.”

More than 90 per cent of Bord na Móna investment in the last financial year was in areas the EU would class as “environmentally sustainable”, including renewable energy, land use change and the circular economy. Accelerate Green is central to the company’s commitment to the European Green Deal.

This work is supported with partial funding through the Bord na Mona led European Commission funded LIFE Integrated Project ‘Peatlands and People’ an initiative that aims to support the realisation of a carbon-neutral, climate resistant and environmentally sustainable country.

Find out more about and companies on the past programmes here.

Esri’s digital mapping system enables Bord na Móna to rehabilitate precious peatland ecosystems

Esri Ireland, the market leader in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), is today announcing that its digital mapping system is being used by Bord na Móna to restore and rehabilitate 33,000 hectares of peatlands over a five year period.

Bord na Móna is a climate solutions semi-state body helping Ireland to achieve a net carbon zero future. Now that commercial peat extraction has ceased, the organisation is leading the way in restoring and rehabilitating precious peatland ecosystems. Having previously worked with Esri Ireland on other projects, Bord na Móna is now using Esri’s ArcGIS system to support and optimise its rehabilitation efforts.

Bord na Móna is currently planning or implementing rehabilitation schemes on 19 sites annually throughout Ireland. Using Esri’s digital mapping capabilities, its ecologists can analyse and examine the ground level to identify which rehabilitation measures are most appropriate on different areas of bogland. This enables them to devise specific map-based solutions such as drain-blocking or bunding to optimise hydrological conditions to re-wet peat and restore peatland function.

Through their collaboration, Esri Ireland has helped Bord na Móna transform their rehabilitation operations, as all employees have access to real-time information on a central system which saves time, helps to improve workflows, and allows constant updating. ArcGIS Online dashboards provide greater visibility on the progress of all projects, wherever they are happening in Ireland. Teams can also use the dashboards to generate automated, accurate reports for stakeholders, such as the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, and the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The technology also enables effective working in remote, wild landscapes, as apps can be used in the field to capture data. This eliminates the need for paper use and improves the accuracy of data collection. In areas with little or no mobile coverage, maps can be downloaded to mobile devices and updates synchronised later.

Michael Lenihan, GIS Manager, Bord na Móna said: “ArcGIS is engrained in our bog rehabilitation process. Using ArcGIS, we can quickly visualise the existing conditions across thousands of hectares of bogs using numerous datasets and design and implement the most appropriate rehabilitation measures to restore peatland function and deliver climate action benefits.

 “With ArcGIS Online, everyone sees the most up-to-date plans, whether they are working in the office or in a bog, and this helps to ensure that ecology plans are carried out as intended. Without the dashboards, we would have to spend a lot of time producing PDF maps and reports. Instead, we can output progress data in a matter of minutes.”

 Phil McLaughlin, Client Manager, Esri Ireland: “Having worked extensively with Bord na Móna, they knew that we were the natural fit to deliver on this next stage in their journey. Esri’s technology has provided the organisation with an effective way of analysing, capturing and storing data to help them renew and rehabilitate our precious peatlands. It is already starting to deliver very positive results supporting Ireland’s ambitious climate goals and protecting our rich biodiversity.

 “We look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationship with Bord na Móna as it carries out this vital work.”

Bord na Móna announces eight Irish scaleup companies for its Accelerate Green programme

Bord na Móna has today announced the eight companies which have been chosen to take part in Accelerate Green, the first  accelerator programme aimed at supporting early-stage companies leading the response to climate action and sustainability.

The new accelerator programme for sustainable business, Accelerate Green, is delivered by Resolve Partners and sponsored by Bord na Móna. It is the first accelerator of its kind in Ireland dedicated to supporting companies developing products and services based on green innovation. Accelerate Green will help the eight business leaders identify clear pathways to scaling their novel solutions, delivering measurable impact and supporting economic development.

The innovation and potential of Irish business can be seen in the different business models and focus of each of the companies selected. Real Leaf Farm, for example, has developed Ireland’s first 100% Hydroponic farm which grows salad vegetables 365 days a year, while Positive Carbon has enabled hotels and food service providers to develop waste reduction strategies through waste sensors and food detection AI.

The eight companies selected for the Accelerate Green programme are: EpiSensor, Borrisoleigh Bottling Ltd, CameraMatics, Positive Carbon, Real Leaf Farm, Automsoft, Go Eve and Jones Celtic Bioenergy Ltd (JCBE).

Speaking at the launch of Accelerate Green, Tom Donnellan, Chief Executive, Bord na Móna, said: “We are delighted to be announcing the eight companies that have been selected to take part in the Accelerate Green Programme. As a climate solutions company Bord na Móna is determined to help these companies deliver novel solutions to enable a low-carbon economy while delivering sustainable jobs.  Accelerate Green is an excellent opportunity for our eight selected companies to engage with key industry partners and gain potential financial investment.”

Emphasising the commercial scalability that is at the heart of Accelerate Green, Alan Costello, Resolve Partners said; “it is significant to note that as a group, the eight participating companies, currently already employ over 120 people, and have raised over €20M in funding. This sharpens the programme’s focus, to support these companies in becoming the next leaders in their sectors, and to inspire and signpost other startups and scaleups across Ireland towards success.”

Over the course of the programme the eight companies will be brought through a series of deep learning and mentoring sessions and will engage with a broad array of speakers from enterprise and energy agencies, Irish corporates, research networks, investors, and successful business leaders. The programme will be delivered in person at a former Bord na Móna site in Boora, Co. Offaly.

The companies will also be able to avail of up to €20,000 of research funding with Irish university researchers. Following the completion of the programme the companies will participate in a leading industry conference, “Ireland Sustainable Future”, taking place in June, to coincide with the programme finish date