ADBA National Conference 2017

The Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA) is delighted to invite you to the ADBA National Conference 2017, taking place at One Great George Street, London, on Thursday 7 December.

The conference will bring together the UK AD and biogas community to explore how the industry can be optimised to reduce emissions through the 2020s to help the government meet its Carbon Budgets.

AD has significant potential to reduce emissions from heat and transport, whilst simultaneously supporting UK farmers and providing a management solution for food waste. The conference will address the most pressing issues in the AD sector, including support for renewable heat, post-Brexit on-farm AD, ADBA’s AD plant certification scheme, gas-grid injection, food waste collections, and biomethane for transport.

Keynote presentations will include Lord Deben, Chair of the Committee on Climate Change, and Professor Ian Boyd, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.

 

Programme 

08.45     09.30                    Registration and networking

09.30     09.40                    Welcome and introductions

Charlotte Morton, Chief Executive, ADBA

09.40     10.00                    Keynote: Meeting our greenhouse gas emissions targets.

Following the Government’s adoption of the CCC’s recommendations on the Fifth Carbon Budget, Lord Deben will deliver his analysis of the next steps, including the policy measures that the government will need to adopt to meet its greenhouse gas emissions targets.

The Rt Hon. the Lord Deben, Chairman, Committee on Climate Change (CCC)

10.00     10.30                   Keynote: RHI update

Dr Quast will update us on RHI policy changes, help us understand how to navigate the system and introduce the government’s Clean Growth Strategy. 

Dr Oliver Quast, Head of Market Intelligence, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)

10.30     10.50                   Liberate more biogas now!

Microwaves can dramatically improve biogas yield by rapidly breaking down materials at a cellular level prior to the AD process. Stephen Roe will present the findings of recent trials on four popular feedstocks and how these results could revolutionise the industry with higher yields and shorter retention times. Stephen will also make the business case for the use of microwave technology, looking at the ROI for a range of AD plants, and at how marginal AD projects could become viable using AMT’s microwave pre-treatment.

Stephen Roe, CEO, Advanced Microwave Technology, AMT

10.50     11.20                    Break and exhibition

11.20     12.40                    Post-Brexit on-farm AD

Can farming and energy policy be coordinated post-Brexit? With the UK and EU deep in negotiations on a new deal for 2019, the UK will soon be making decisions on how it should support farmers once payments from the Common Agricultural Policy end. AD offers the government the chance to stabilise farm incomes, cut greenhouse gases and improve energy security. Will it take this opportunity?

 

Chair: Charlotte Smith, Presenter, BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today and BBC1’s Countryfile

Ollie More, Head of Policy, ADBA

Chris Huhne, Strategic Adviser, ADBA

Guy Smith, Vice President, National Farmers Union

Charlie Finningham, Managing Director, Strutt and Parker Farms

David Kaner, Chief Executive, Advance Anaerobics

12.40     13.00                    Keynote

Professor Boyd will discuss the importance of food waste recycling through AD and the need for mandatory separate food waste collections in England to facilitate this.

Professor Ian Lamont Boyd FSB FRSE, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

13.00     14.00                    Lunch and exhibition

14.00     15.30                    ADBA AD plant certification scheme launch – Breakout session 1

This session will discuss the launch of ADBA’s AD plant certification scheme, a pioneering, industry-led scheme designed to improve the environmental, operational and safety performance of the AD industry. Hear from some of those involved in developing the scheme, who will explain why the scheme is so important and how AD operators can benefit from participating.

Chair: Jess Allan, Environment and Regulation Manager, ADBA

Dr Amaya Arias-Garcia, Technical Director, GOALS PME

Carl Gurney, Renewable Energy Director, Jelf Insurance and Risk Management Brokers

Judy Proctor, Head of Biodiversity, Environment Agency

Nick Johnn, Director, Aardvark Certification Ltd

Susan Relf, Compliance Director, Agrivert

14.00     15.30                    Which gas is best for injection into the UK gas grid? – Breakout session 2

Whilst biomethane is already recognised as an ideal gas for injection, there are questions over whether hydrogen could form part of the mix, or even whether the grid needs to be converted to take only hydrogen. But what would be best in the long run?

Chair: Dr Alan Whitehead MP, Shadow Minister, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Energy & Climate Change

Grant Ashton, Chief Executive, Green Gas Trading

Professor Richard Dinsdale, Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Science, University of South Wales

Alan Midwinter, Senior Business Development Manager, Scotia Gas Networks (SGN)

Philipp Lukas, Managing Director, Future Biogas

David Parkin, Director of Safety and Network Strategy, Cadent Gas

15.30     16.00                    Break and exhibition

16.00     17.30                    What are the most effective food waste collection systems, and what can we learn from them? – Breakout session 3

Local authorities from all four nations of the UK that have successfully implemented food waste collection systems will discuss the associated benefits and challenges, with a focus on the changes required for all local authorities to follow suit.

Chair: Councillor Clyde Loakes, Waltham Forest Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment and Chair of Resource London

Linda Crichton, Head of Resource Management, WRAP

Adrian Bond, Recycling Programme Manager, Zero Waste Scotland

Andrew Wilkinson, Head of Service, Conwy Council

Martin Doherty, Project Manager, Belfast City Council

 16.00     17.30                    The role of AD in decarbonising transport – Breakout session 4

While progress on transport decarbonisation has been slow to date, the Department for Transport has proposed amendments to the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation that will increase the proportion of renewable fuel in the UK from 4.75% to 9.75% by 2020 and further to 12.4% by 2032. They are also introducing a new obligation on fuel suppliers to reduce the overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the fuel they supply. Join us in this session to learn about these policy changes and the low carbon credentials of biomethane and hear about the business case from those in the know.

Chair: Andrew Whittles, Managing Director, Low Emission Strategies

Jonathan Hood, Senior Policy Advisor, Department for Transport

Justin Laney, General Manager, Central Transport, Waitrose

Andy Eastlake, Managing Director, LowCVP

Will Llewellyn, Director, Red Kite Management Ltd

Gregory Krupnikovs, Director, Rika Biofuels

17.30                                   Conference finish

17.30      21.00                   Networking drinks

Who will be attending

Alongside the above speakers, delegates at the conference will include AD industry practitioners, policymakers, academics, local authority representatives, and industry leaders from the energy, food, farming, transport, waste, and water sectors. A range of exhibitors will also be on hand to showcase the latest AD products and services.

How to secure your place and find out more

If you would like a press pass for the conference or more information, please contact ADBA PR & Parliamentary Affairs Executive Chris Noyce on 020 3176 5441 or at chris.noyce@adbioresources.org. You can find full details about the conference at the conference website here.