Experts and Industry Gather to Explore Sustainable Nutrient Recovery Solutions
Last week, the second installment of the NPower workshop series concluded at University College Dublin in collaboration with BiOrbic.
The fourth workshop in the ‘Best Practice’ series focused on identifying innovative nutrient recovery strategies for the water and waste sectors, supporting the continued growth of the NPower Irish Cluster multi-actor network. The event opened with remarks from NPower Network Manager Dr Clodagh Carr and BiOrbic Business Development Manager Seán Douglas.
Guest speaker Dr Rajan Choudhary of University College Dublin and the SINFERT Project, led by Dr Kirill Nikitin, prompted engaging discussion on the future of phosphorus recovery from waste streams for use in food production. The session highlighted the growing importance of sustainable, high-grade phosphate fertiliser production in supporting long-term global food security.
An interactive co-creation session followed, giving participants the opportunity to reflect on and further develop best practices in nutrient management. The workshop concluded with a panel discussion facilitated by Ian Martin, Public Engagement Manager at BiOrbic, featuring contributions from:
- Cian O’Reilly, Project Manager of the Circular-IMTA-Demo Project at Technological University of the Shannon
- Camila D’Bastiani, Lecturer with the CFD Group at Technological University Dublin
- Dr Yuchen Liu, Industry Fellow at University of Galway with Bia Energy
Panelists shared insights across a range of emerging areas, including duckweed aquaculture, computational fluid dynamics modelling in waste treatment, and the use of anaerobic digestion to produce biomethane and biofertiliser.
Since the NPower project launched in January 2025, four Regional Clusters have been established in Spain, Ireland, Belgium and Finland. These clusters act as knowledge-sharing hubs, bringing together researchers, policymakers and industry stakeholders to support the development and replication of nutrient management solutions across Europe.
NPower is delivered by a multidisciplinary consortium spanning six European countries, with the shared goal of improving the recovery of Nitrogen and Phosphorus through circular management approaches. The NPower Irish Cluster includes BiOrbic, UCD, CircBio at Munster Technological University, and the Irish Bioeconomy Foundation.
