The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), in partnership with Digital Catapult, recently hosted an event showcasing solutions to industrial challenges towards achieving Net Zero.

The event, which was held at CAFRE's Loughry Campus, was attended by around 70 representatives from government, industry and other stakeholders. These attendees were afforded the opportunity to witness potential deep tech solutions to challenges posed by Dale Farm, AgriSearch and Encirc.

The showcase event was the culmination of the one-year pioneering Tenfold Net Zero Accelerator Programme.

Speaking before the event, Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir said: "Collaborative innovation programmes such as the Digital Catapult Tenfold Accelerator are important to help Northern Ireland to achieve Net Zero, while growing a globally competitive and sustainable economy, which is one of the immediate priorities within the Draft Programme for Government. 

"I believe that championing and investing in science, innovation and knowledge transfer is central to addressing climate change and unlocking new economic opportunities. The Tenfold Net Zero Accelerator Programme exemplifies our commitment to this approach."

He continued: "Innovation will be essential to address key societal and environmental issues, including dealing with climate change and ensuring sustainable food production as showcased in this pilot initiative.

"It drives economic productivity, anchors international investment, helps to raise living standards whilst laying the foundation for our future and as such will be an important driver of the transition towards green growth."

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The innovative solutions, presented at the showcase event, were designed utilising technologies such as AI, the Internet of Things and machine vision.

Lagan Networks worked alongside Dale Farm, the largest UK farmer-owned dairy cooperative, to implement a sensor-driven solution for feed management, using strain gauge wireless sensors to monitor feed bin levels in real-time across farms.

This technology helps optimise feed efficiency and minimise waste, leading to a reduction in the carbon footprint of the milk produced, cost savings and improved operational sustainability.

Simultaneously, Soil Benchmark developed a new manure management tool for Agrisearch, a farmer-funded beef, dairy and sheep production research organisation, that could transform slurry from a traditional waste product into a valuable nutrient source.

It provides farmers with easy-to-understand insights into soil nutrient levels, helping them apply manure more precisely to reduce fertiliser costs, avoid over-application, and stay compliant with environmental standards to prevent pollution and improve water quality.

i3D Robotics' dark glass inspection solution offers significant operational and environmental benefits to Encirc, a market leader in glass container design, manufacturing, bottling and logistics solutions. 

Due to the distinctive colour and opacity of the dark glass containers produced by Encirc, conventional quality inspection methods encounter limitations. 

By improving automated detection of defects, the new proof-of-concept has the potential to significantly reduce waste, improve efficiency and reduce production costs. 

Increased precision will also facilitate the development of light-weight containers to provide further energy cost savings and reduce the carbon footprint of the product.

During the showcase event, representatives from DAERA and Digital Catapult also spoke candidly about the lessons learnt in the process of establishing and delivering the Tenfold programme and how such collaborative approaches can best encourage or support wider industry adoption of innovative processes and products.

Ciara Reynolds, Deputy Director of Innovation and Change at DAERA, said: "Today's event is an excellent conclusion to the Tenfold Net Zero Accelerator Programme. We have seen how a successful collaboration between the public and private sector has delivered proof-of-concept digital solutions which will benefit local businesses in their drive to achieve Net Zero."

Sue McGuire, Senior Strategic Partnerships Manager at Digital Catapult, added: "We are thrilled with the success of the Tenfold programme, which has addressed critical industrial challenges through deep tech innovation. This pilot not only delivered meaningful solutions for industrial decarbonisation, but it has also laid the foundations on which a framework for government-industry innovation collaborations can be built."