GGR projects

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UKRI is funding five interdisciplinary Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR) Demonstrator projects. Each project is researching a GGR method over the next four years. 

The results will be used to shape government decision-making on the most effective technologies to help the UK tackle climate change and reach net zero. Find out about each GGR project below and by watching the video.

Biochar

The biochar project will address the uncertainties concerning the extent and scope of deployment of biochar, including its stability with respect to carbon sequestration, together with quantifying effects on soil health and ecosystem services, economic viability and also social acceptability. Field trials will take place at arable and grassland sites in the Midlands and Wales, an open cast coal mine site in Cumbria, denuded railway embankments, and forestry sites in England and Wales.

CEG char closeup of char on the ground of a field
Tractor lays crushed rock onto field

Enhanced rock weathering

The enhanced rock weathering project will explore amending soils with crushed calcium and magnesium rich silicate rocks from waste quarry fines to accelerate natural CO2 sequestration processes. It will also provide the first integrated whole system assessment of the science, societal and scalability opportunities and challenges of enhanced rock weathering deployment in UK agriculture. Field sites are the Plynlimon Experimental Catchments (mid-Wales), Rothamsted Research’s North Wyke grassland experimental platform in Devon, and their cutting-edge arable research facility in Harpenden, Hertfordshire.  

Peatlands

 

The peatland (‘GGR-Peat’) project will work with natural processes to restore, and where possible enhance, the environmental conditions that lead to peat formation. Simultaneously it will develop innovative approaches to increase rates of COuptake and store it securely for millennia. As part of this project, three experimental test locations are being established in representative lowland and upland peat settings: South Yorkshire, near Doncaster; land owned by the National Trust in the South Pennines; and finally, the Pwllpeiran Upland Research Centre in the Cambrian Mountains of Wales. 

Overhead shot of peatlands in the UK
Miscanthus grass close up

Perennial biomass crops

The perennial biomass crops (‘PBC4GGR’) project is investigating the potential for plants like willow and miscanthus to support BECCS in the UK. It will demonstrate novel establishment techniques that maximise yield whilst minimising greenhouse gas emissions, and provide an up to date quantification of the scope for Greenhouse Gas Removal. The project will also establish the conditions required for farmer uptake and wider societal acceptance, and investigate the costs, benefits and trade-offs for biodiversity and ecosystem services. New field trials will be developed – for miscanthus at Bishop Burton College, East Yorkshire and willow at Myerscough College, Lancashire. 

Woodland creation and management

The woodland creation and management (‘NetZeroPlus’) project will gather evidence, address knowledge gaps and allow decision makers to explore the Greenhouse Gas Removal consequences of different tree-planting options and explore all the diverse aspects of forestry to identify “the right tree in the right place”. As well as Greenhouse Gas Removal, the project will deliver valuable insights on how tree-planting can deliver other benefits such as enhanced biodiversity, water quality, recreation and health. What’s more, it will pioneer an approach to decision making that takes into account all the effects of land use change.  

 

Photo taken looking up at large oak tree with bright green leaves

The relationship between the GGR-D Programme, Demonstrators and CO2RE

Together, CO2RE and the Demonstrators form the UKRI Greenhouse Gas Removal Demonstrators (GGR-D) Programme. CO2RE is responsible for co-ordinating the GGR-D Programme and undertaking solutions-led research on GGR. A key role of CO2RE is to provide insights into the cross-cutting challenges that will be faced by the Demonstrators projects and co-developing evidence of scale and wider acceptability of GGR approaches. CO2RE will provide friendly but critical oversight as the Demonstrators advance, which will result in the co-creation of valuable new knowledge as they scale.

GGR-D logo
co2re logo
ERW logo
GGR peat logo
NetZeroPlus logo
PBC4GGR logo

Pathfinders projects

CO2RE is funding four innovative GGR projects as part of its Pathfinders Call 1. The projects explore new methods for capturing greenhouse gases and durably storing or converting them. Find out more about our funding opportunities 

Underwater Kelp Forest in California

Use of co-pyrolised biochar in Carbon-Negative Hydrogen Production (HyBECCS) from bio-organic wastes

algae cultivation

Evolved aquatic microbial communities to sequester atmospheric CO2 

cows graze on a green field in sunny weather, layout with space for text

Methane removal and remediation using chlorine radicals

Enzyme-enhanced carbon capture and storage solutions in basaltic rock

Abstract blurred nature background dandelion seeds parachute. Abstract nature bokeh pattern

What is Greenhouse Gas Removal?

Our FAQ page answers questions around Greenhouse Gas Removal, including why we need it, what the different types of GGR are and how they can be pursued.

Young plant in the morning light growing out from soil

Funding & secondments

CO2RE holds a £1 million Flexible Fund which will be used to fill in gaps and needs identified during the lifetime of the Programme. The fund will support work to address research and engagement gaps through three approaches.

Publications

Browse the latest publications from members of the CO2RE team, including articles in leading journals, policy briefings and reports on a range of aspects relating to GGR.

Events

Exploring risk & uncertainty for actors in the new GGR sector
Exploring risk & uncertainty for actors in the new GGR sector

Event date - February 8, 2023

Join as an expert panel explores risk and uncertainty for actors in the new GGR sector Read more

The State of Carbon Dioxide Removal – Report launch
The State of Carbon Dioxide Removal – Report launch

Event date - January 19, 2023

This webinar will launch a new global annual report – The State of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Read more

GGR Future Leaders Network ‘Sandpit’
GGR Future Leaders Network ‘Sandpit’

Event date - January 17, 2023

17 January 2023. Help shape the Greenhouse Gas Removal Future Leaders Network at this sandpit event run by CO2RE. The sandpit will run 10am-5pm.  Read more

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Funded by UK Research and Innovation, grant reference NE/V013106/1

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