A newly developed technology has been scientifically proven to reduce emissions from slurry storage by over 80%, the Galway-based company producing the manure additive has said.

GasAbate, a manure management additive from Glasport Bio, recently secured a €10m investment to upscale this technology.

Its efficacy has been independently verified by University College Dublin (UCD) and Teagasc, as well as German and Danish universities.

Commercial trials are currently taking place on Teagasc Signpost farms, Carbery Group farms, Dairygold farms, an ABP research farm, German pig farms and Irish pig farms.

Decreased fertiliser

Glasport Bio said the additive allows slurry to retain more nutrients and will therefore decrease the need for chemical fertilisers by up to 20%.

The Galway company also said it will help with compliance to the nitrates derogation, as it enables longer slurry storage without increasing emissions.

If rolled out on all Irish cattle and pig farms, it would account for 30% of the Government's 2030 emissions reduction target or the equivalent of taking over 1.2m cars off Ireland’s roads, Glasport Bio added. It is also shown to decrease ammonia emissions by 40% to 50%.

Last week, a Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) report proposed the Government should invest €3bn to support the rollout of electric cars. This measure would potentially abate 4m tonnes of carbon at a cost of €750/t, the company claimed.

Glasport Bio said that, comparatively, GasAbate is a cost-effective solution to emissions reduction. Economic modelling carried out by former director of Teagasc professor Gerry Boyle shows GasAbate will cost €75/t of CO2 abated.

Government support

Glasport Bio CEO Justin McCarthy - former CEO and editor of the Irish Farmers Journal - said he hopes the Government will support the rollout of the manure additive across Irish livestock farms.

“We can finally offer the Government and the food processing sector a cost-effective solution to support farmers in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from food production.

“In Ireland, we see GasAbate as being an essential technology in supporting Ireland to retain its nitrates derogation without increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

“We hope that the Government will see the unrivalled return on investment that supporting farmers in the rollout of GasAbate can deliver and will take the opportunity to dramatically reduce agricultural emissions while underpinning economic activity in rural communities,” he said.

McCarthy added that the technology is globally scalable and will have a real impact on reducing the environmental footprint of livestock systems while improving on-farm efficiencies.

“GasAbate’s technology is backed by extensive lab and field trials and is supported by robust measurement, reporting and verification systems to reduce the environmental footprint of meat and dairy supply chains while helping farmers cut costs, improve animal welfare and enhance soil and water quality,” he said.

A newly established entity - GlasPort Rumen Tech - will continue with the development of the company's novel feed additive. Justin McCarthy will assume executive chair of this business.

In Teagasc trials, the GlasPort feed additive developed around safe food grade ingredients is showing a 30% reduction in methane emissions form animal digestion, while also improving animal performance.