DGS is partner of TEAPOTS, a european research project for the sustainable processing of agricultural waste.

The European TEAPOTS project aims to develop an innovative solution to meet the energy needs of the agri-food sector through the valorisation of agricultural waste and the reduction of pollutants and greenhouse gases. The project is based on a holistic and technologically advanced approach to sustainable agrifood practices, with an emphasis on energy efficiency, valorisation of agricultural waste and environmental protection.

DGS is one of the partners in the TEAPOTS project (agriculTurE wAste PyrOlysis and Thermocomposting for renewable energy in Sustainable agri-food sector), which aims to meet the local and seasonal energy needs of the agri-food sector, using innovative, integrated, modular and flexible solutions. In particular, the project will focus on the valorisation of lignocellulosic agricultural waste, while producing biochar, a carbon-rich material obtained from the pyrolysis of biomass.

DGS is responsible for the work package related to the design, development and implementation of the TEAPOTS digital platform and will also contribute to all other activities related to data collection and integration with the platform.

The project involves the development of the TEAPOTS Integrated Solution (TIS) and the TEAPOTS Digital Platform (TDP). By incorporating four different technologies, the TEAPOTS Integrated Solution will be able to produce renewable energy through an integrated and flexible trigeneration system to obtain heat, cold and electricity as needed. It will also produce plant biostimulants that will contribute to soil and biodiversity improvement.

The TEAPOTS Digital Platform (TDP) will contain data collected in the field, satellite images used to assess biomass growth, and operational data from the TIS. This data will feed a data-driven decision support system with a predictive module based on artificial intelligence (AI) techniques that will allow resources to be optimised according to their availability and energy needs, reducing costs and increasing economic efficiency.

Coordinator of TEAPOTS is SMACT (Italy). The TEAPOTS partnership consists of 16 partners, including DGS, from European universities, companies and research institutions, from Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Greece, Germany, the Czech Republic and Denmark.

The project, which started on 1 January 2024 and is scheduled to run for 48 months (2024-2027), will benefit from a direct contribution from the European Union of approximately EUR 7 million.

The Kick-off Meeting of the project was held on 17 and 18 January 2024 in Padua, Italy, at the SMACT Centre.

This project has been funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, under grant agreement No. 101118296.