€1.5m Funding Success in CBE-JU
We are pleased to announce that three of the proposals involving Celignis, submitted to the CBE-JU programme for funding collaborative biomass research in Europe, were successful. These projects will provide an additional funding of €1.5m to Celignis and build on our achievements in other CBE and EU projects. In particular, the projects are all at enhanced TRLs (6/7) and will use our existing Celignis Bioprocess infrastructure and will also fund further development of our bioprocessing capacities and the Bioprocess Development Services we offer our clients.
Details on the funded projects are provided below:
BIONEER - This project was funded under CBE-JU topic IA-06 and focuses on the TRL 6/7 production of biobased platform chemicals. Celignis's activities in the project focus on scaling up the work undertaken in our ongoing CBE-JU RIA project PERFECOAT and the Cluster 6 Horizon Europe project EnxylaScope.
PROMOFER - This project was funded under CBE-JU topic IA-03 and focuses on scaling up improved fermentation processes. Celignis's activities in the project are focused on the TRL7 (1m3 reactor) production of fermentable carbohydrates from lignocellulosic feedstocks.
MANUREFINERY - This project was funded under CBE-JU topic IA-01 and focuses on demonstrating small scale biorefining in rural areas. Celignis will be responsible for undertaking technoeconomic analyses of the integrated processes for valorising agricultural side-streams.
Celignis is a Full Industry Member of the Biobased Industries Consortium (BIC), which helps to steer the focus of research for the CBE-JU programme. On Feb 8th Celignis's Dan Hayes, Lalitha Gottumukkala, and Oscar Bedzo will be attending a BIC networking event in Brussels where we will discuss collaborations in the research programme topics recently announced for 2024.
Celignis to Exhibit and Present at Major Biochar Event
On Feb 12-15 we'll be exhibiting at the 2024 North American Biochar Conference, taking place at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Centre in Sacramento, California.
We're looking forward to interacting with the 1000+ expected attendees, outlining our extensive range of analytical and application testing services for biochar.
Celignis CIO Lalitha Gottumukkala will also be a member of the expert panel focused on developing improved laboratory methods for biochar characterisation.
Click here to register for the event.
Celignis Attending BIC Event on Feb 8
The Circular Bioeconomy Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE-JU) is an organisation that funds biomass research in Europe at various Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). Since 2016 Celignis has been an active participant in a number of projects funded by the CBE-JU.
The Biobased Industries Consortium (BIC) is the steering committee that helps to steer the focus of research for the CBE-JU programme. In 2023 Celignis joined the BIC as a Full Industry Member and participated in several proposals submitted for different research topics in the CBE-JU's 2023 Work Programme.
On Feb 8th Celignis's Dan Hayes, Lalitha Gottumukkala, and Oscar Bedzo will be attending a BIC networking event in Brussels where we will discuss potential collaborations in the research programme topics recently announced for 2024.
If you are also attending that event then please get in touch with us, either through the Celignis website or via the event's networking platform, so that we can discuss potential synergies in proposals for the 2024 topics.
We're Hiring - Business Administration & Client Relationship Manager
Situated in Limerick, Ireland, Celignis currently operates at two centres, Celignis Analytical and Celignis Bioprocess, actively engaging in a variety of private and public bioeconomy projects. As we continue to expand, we're looking to strengthen our team of 14 with a Business Administration and Client Relationship Manager who can bring a blend of enthusiasm and expertise.
This position will involve working closely with senior management, fostering existing and new client relationships, and ensuring successful delivery of our services, playing a key role in our ongoing growth and success.
Click here for more details about the position.
Celignis to Sponsor and Present at Major Biochar Event
We are pleased to announce that, on May 3rd, Celignis will be presenting and exhibiting at the National Biochar and Carbon Products Conference 2023, which is taking place in Carrick-on-Shannon in County Leitrm, Ireland.
This conference is being organised under the auspices of the Interreg Northwest Europe-funded THREE C Project, entitled 'Creating and sustaining Charcoal value chains to promote a Circular Carbon economy in NWE Europe'.
The conference will highlight both Irish stakeholders who are currently working in the biochar and carbon products sector, but also partners from the THREE C project (covering Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Belgium, France and Wales, as well as Ireland) who have interesting stories and products to share.
Celignis, along with Arigna Fuels, is the main sponsor of the event and several members of the Celignis team will be present at our exhibition stand where we will be happy to discuss our wide range of analytical and bioprocess development services for biochar stakeholders. The event coincides with the launch of the Celignis Biochar Hub, a section of our website that goes into great detail (15 web pages and 22,000 words) on our range of services.
Celignis CEO Dan Hayes will also be presenting at the event, with a presentation entitled 'Expanding the Market for Biochar with Analysis, Application Testing, and Upgrading'.
Click here to register for the event.
If you are unable to make it you can use the links below to access some information on our services for the biochar sector and please contact us if you would like to receive a copy of our presentation.
Celignis Biochar Trifold
Celignis Brochure 
Employee Spotlight - Piotr
TBD
New Article on Biochar Analysis
Click here to read about the different analysis packages that Celignis offers for the evaluation on biochars. These analyses cover properties relevant to a wide variety of applications, including soil amendment, carbon sequestration, bioenergy, and biomaterials.
Special Offer on TGA Analysis
To celebrate the arrival of our thermogravimetric (TGA) equipment, we are offering, for a limited time period, two TGA analyses for the price of one. Click here to read more about TGA analyses at Celignis and to see the various packages on offer.
To avail of this special offer please mention the code (TGA-AUGUST) in an email or when placing an order via the Celignis Database.
Short Video by Lalitha on EnXylaScope
Celignis recently exhibited at IBioiC's annual conference, held in Glasgow on June 6-7.
During that event Lalitha, Celignis's CIO, gave a short 5 minute presentation on the EnXylaScope collaborative EU research project that Celignis is involved in.
You can view the presentation below or here on YouTube.
CBE-JU Call Opens - See our Pitches for Proposals
Today the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE-JU) released their annual work programme and budget for 2022. There is an indicative budget of 120 million Euros which will fund a total of 12 topics, comprising 5 Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs), 1 Coordinating and Supporting Action (CSA), 4 Demonstration-Scale projects, and 2 Flagships.
Celignis is a partner in 3 ongoing CBE projects: UNRAVEL and PERFECOAT are RIA (Research and Innovation Action) projects, whilst VAMOS is an Innovation Action project. Additionally, Celignis was a partner in the BIOrescue RIA project which was completed in 2019. Click here to read more about our involvements in these projects. They were funded as part of the Biomass Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI-JU) programme. The BBI-JU was the precursor to the CBE-JU for which 2022 will be the first year of operation.
We believe that we can make valuable contributions to projects covering a large number of the topics in the 2022 CBE work programme. These contributions are summarised here and there are also individual Celignis webpages for each of the call topics.
If you are preparing a CBE proposal this year and would like to engage with the Celignis team during the proposal preparation period then feel free to contact us and we will be happy to discuss in more detail how we can potentially contribute to the proposal and consortium. Celignis's Lalitha and Dan have years of experience putting together and writing proposals for EU funding and have also both worked as Expert Evaluators for the BBI-JU and so are very familiar with what is required for an excellent proposal and improved chances of being funded.
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Celignis Exhibiting at World Biogas Expo 2022
We are happy to be exhibiting at The World Biogas Expo 2022, taking place at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, UK, on June 15-16.
We are at stand A501 and eager to talk about our wide range of analytical and bioprocess development services for the anaerobic digestion sector.
Here you can download soft copies of the brochure, AD trifold, and analysis trifold that we are distributing at the event.
Presentation and Exhibition Stand at IBioIC Annual Conference
The IBioIC Annual Conference makes a welcome return to Glasgow. The title of the event is "The Just Transition of Biotechnology - How sustainable development in industrial biotechnology can secure Scotland's path to Net Zero".
We are pleased to be exhibiting at the event, on June 6-7 at the Technology & Innovation Centre in Glasgow, UK. We look forward to discussing our range of analytical and bioprocess development services for bioeconomy stakeholders.
Our CIO Lalithawill also be giving a presentation at the event about our participation in EnXylaScope a collaborative research project funded by the the Horizon Europe programme.
Here you can download soft copies of the brochure, AD trifold, and analysis trifold that we are distributing at the event.
Intro Video to EnXylaScope Launched
An introductory video to the EnXylaScope project (funded by Horizon Europe and technically led by Celignis) has been released. It has been prepared by our fellow consortium partner Loba and details the rationale for the project and the technical advances that the project will make, leading to an efficient and commercially-viable process for the extraction of xylan and its modification so that it can be incorporated into a range of consumer products.
Click here to learn more about the project and Celignis's central contributions to it and here to view the video on YouTube.
EnXylaScope's First Newsletter is Released
The newsletter covers the project's activities in the search for xylan debranching enzymes (a WP with extensive involvement from Celignis) and on the extraction and modification of xylans for consumer products (a WP led by Celignis). Click here to view the newsletter.
Lalitha Presenting the EnXylaScope Project at CLIB Forum Event
EnXylaScope is one of four research projects that were funded in the Horizon 2020 call FNR-16-2020 (Enzymes for more environment-friendly consumer products). Today a remote networking event is being held (CLIB HiPerln 2.0 Forum - Catalysing Alliances for Greener Products) at which representatives from each of the projects will present and discuss opportunities for collaboration. Celignis's Lalitha will be representing the EnXylaScope project and is looking forward to discussing the exciting opportunities for enzyme development and xylan valorisation offered by the project. Click here to read more about the event and to register.
ALGALVANISE - Astaxanthin Extracted from Microalgae!
Below is included an image of the solvent extract, containing the valuable pigment astaxanthin, obtained from microalgae that has been cultured and grown in our ALGALVANISE project. This output demonstrates successful achievement of a primary objective of Lalitha's project, that high value compounds can be obtained from algae that utilise waste streams from the anaerobic digestion sector as a nutrient and growth source.
Offical Start of the SteamBioAfrica Project
Today represents Day 1 of the SteamBioAfrica project. It is an €11.7m, four-year, Innovation Action project funded by the EU's Horizon Europe programme. The tagline of the project is "Innovative Large-Scale Production of Affordable Clean Burning Solid Biofuel and Water in Southern Africa: Transforming Bush Encroachment from a Problem into a Secure and Sustainable Energy Source".
The project will address the problems experienced with bush encroachment in a number of southern African countries by using this biomass as a feedstock for a steam torrefaction process, developed in SteamBio (an earlier EU-funded project). Their are two main outputs of this process, a solid material which has improved properties, with regards to its use as a clean-burning fuel, over the original biomass, and a liquid condensate containing volatile components removed from the biomass during torrefaction.
Celignis will be an important analytical partner in the project, undertaking detailed compositional analyses of the feedstocks and process outputs as well as providing guidance and SOPs to the local partners for routine analyses (e.g. for proximate, ultimate, and calorific value analysis). Additionally, Celignis is the main partner responsible for the analysis of the liquid condensate fraction and for the evaluation of suitable applications and markets for it. This is expected to be a complex mixture of degradation products, particularly those coming from the extractives and hemciellulose fractions of the biomass. The profiling of this liquid stream will involve use of our extensive range of chromatography equipment, particularly our Agilent iFunnel 6550 QTOF-LC/MS device. Following this detailed analysis we will then consider which components within the liquid are of value and will consider applications for these (either in crude or refined forms) and will work on techniques for separation and purification. This aspect will follow a similar approach to our work in the UNRAVEL project (funded by the BBI-JU programme of Horizon 2020) where we identified betulin in birch bark as a high value chemical that warranted extraction and purification and then worked on developing a commercially-relevant approach to enable this.
Click here to read more about the SteamBioAfrica project and our involvement in it.
ALGALVANISE - Algae Flocculation with Chitosan
The image below shows the successful flocculation of algae by using chitosan. This was one of the key objectives of the ALGALVANISE project that involve's Celignis's Lalitha.
Traditionally, algal harvesting costs can comprise around 30% of the total operating costs of lage plants, hence reducing these will have a major positive effect on algal cultivation economics. Modern separators use 0.4 kWh/m3, a high energy requirement given average algal biomass concentration is only 1g/L. For separation to give a positive energy balance the energy required for harvesting needs to be reduced to 0.1 kWh/m3. ALGALVANISE targets such a low energy system through the use of coagulation/flocculation methods with the use of chitosan being one of these approaches.
Further work will be undertaken to optimise the process in order to find the minimum chitosan dosage to enhance bacterial flocculation in terms of yield and quality of the biomass without using any alkali agents.
BIO4Africa Project Officially Starts
Today marks the first official day of the BIO4Africa project. It is a four-year €9m RIA (Research and Innovation Action) project, funded by the EU's Horizon Europe programme involving 25 partners from the EU and Africa. It focuses on the demonstration of sustainable, circular solutions and business models, suitable for African countries, based on the valorisation of a variety of local feedstocks.
Celignis is an important partner in the project, having a key role early-on with regards to the compositional analysis and evaluation of a wide variety of different local feedstocks. These data will allow decisions to be made with regards to which feedstocks are suitable for which technologies leading to a subset of feedstocks being selected for processing. The technologies that will be deployed in the project include: pyrolysis (for the production of biochar); hydrothermal carbonisation; and a green-biorefinery (the GRASSA process, which has previously been demonstrated in Ireland in the Biorefinery Glas project).
After the most appropriate feedstocks have been selected for each technology, samples will be sent to the European technology providers where initial tests will be undertaken in order to understand how these feedstocks behave, allowing for fine-tuning and process modifications to improve process efficiencies for each feedstock. Following these trials arrangements will be made for the equipment to be shipped to Africa where the technologies will be deployed at a number of locations, processing locally-available biomass. Celignis will also play an important role in the project at these stages, being responsible for the analysis of the outputs (e.g. biochar, HTC char, press-cake, etc.) of the various technologies.
Click here to read more about the project and Celignis's involvement in it.
Kick-Off Meeting for the EnXylaScope Project
Today we were happy to take part in the kick-off meeting for our EnXylaScope project. There were fruitful discussions between the project's partners on the work to be undertaken in the various work packages and on how the scientific and technical progress will be guided by the clear commercial opportunities presented by xylan as a polymer and the range of markets for which it can be an important component in consumer products. The discovery and application of novel enzymes to facilitate this is a key component of the proejct.
Click here to read more about the project and the important contributions that Celignis is making towards it.
Success for Celignis at the Irish Lab Awards 2021
We are happy to announce that Celignis received two awards in the 2021 Irish Lab Awards. These awards are detailed below:
Innovation of the Year Award - for our technological developments for polysaccharide extraction and modification and our advances in the provision of Bioprocess Development Services for clients.
Laboratory Staff Member of the Year Award - For Laitha, our Chief Innovation Officer, recognising the massive constributions she has made to the company in the last year in terms of innovations, enhanced services to our clients, and business development.
Click here to see the list of finalists and awardees in each category.
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ALGALVANISE - Filamentous Microalgae Isolated
Below is a short video of the microscope-view (10X) of a filamentous microalgae strain that we have isolated as part of the ALGALVANISE project involving Celignis's Lalitha.
Kick-off of ALGALVANISE PROJECT
ALGALVANISE is an exciting new project, funded by the European Union's Marie-Curie programme, involving Celignis's Lalitha. It will advance the state of- the art by developing two novel concepts:
1) enzyme-assisted enhanced algal cultivation; and
2) combinatorial bioflocculation using bacteria and biopolymers.
These two processes are targeted towards efficient nutrient recovery by algae from the digestate produced by anaerobic digestors and harvesting high-quality algal biomass to produce high-value functional ingredients.
We will update you, over the coming months and years, regarding the progress of this exciting project.
Celignis Personnel Representing UNRAVEL Project at BBI-JU Stakeholder Forum
Celignis's Lalitha and Dan are, together with Andre Zomeren (from coordinator TNO), today representing the BBI project UNRAVEL at the BBI JU Stakeholder Forum 2019 being held at the Egg Congress and Meeting Center in Brussels. This event provides BBI projects' partners the opportunity to meet each other, and the wider public, to facilitate collaboration opportunities and commercial progress of the technologies being developed.
We are happy to discuss with you the advances made by partner TNO on the project's FABIOLA pretreatment/fractionation progress and by Celignis on the characterisation and removal of extractives, targeting recovery and purification of an identified high value component, and on the rapid analysis models developed by Celignis for the inputs and outputs of the process. We will also be happy to discuss the important work in the project being done by other partners.
We are located at Stand 5C so come say hello!
Click here to read more about the UNRAVEL project.
Celignis Demonstration at BBI Project ICT-Biochain Event
ICT-BIOCHAIN is a BBI-JU (Horizon 2020) project that targets the identification of opportunities for ICT to increase the efficiency of biomass supply chains for the bio-based industry.
On the 16th of October, as part of Bioeconomy Ireland Week 2019 the project's Irish partners hosted a Knowledge Transfer Demonstration Day where companies with novel ICT, IoT and Industry 4.0 solutions for the bio-based sector demonstrated their technologies in a real operating environment.
Celignis was one of those demonstrating companies and we welcomed visitors to our labs where we provided a demonstration of our Near-Infrared Spectroscopy rapid biomass analysis models, using proprietary software, as well as our provision of biomethane potential (BMP) data for the anaerobic digestion sector.
Click here to read more about the event.
