University of Leeds

Bringing together a wealth of interdisciplinary expertise at the University of Leeds with partners from across the farming and energy sectors, we are developing innovative solutions that can help to decarbonise both the University of Leeds Research Farm and the wider sector across the UK.

Our approach builds on the University’s existing energy research strengths including processing of waste and slurry, the development of alternative fuels such as biohydrogen, renewable energy systems, transport decarbonisation, energy storage and smart energy systems.

At the University Research Farm, we are creating a Net Zero Agriculture Living Lab that can rapidly deploy and test solutions for decarbonising agri-energy systems. We also host regenerative agriculture trials and a newly installed insect farming unit, that will be used to explore innovative and cutting-edge research into waste valorisation and sustainable agriculture.

Alongside developing on-farm opportunities for agri-energy, our qualitative and quantitative research seeks to understand the scale and nature of agri-energy ecosystems nationally, including the role of research and innovation.

To help develop and scale up economically viable solutions for climate-neutral and climate-resilient farms, our researchers also lead a programme of work in the EU-funded ClieNFarms project, which aims to co-develop and scale up systemic, locally relevant solutions to foster climate-neutral and climate-resilient farms across Europe.