Innovation is the only way to remain agile and ahead of the competition. It is the innovation of today that becomes the best practice of tomorrow. Bord na Móna intends to invest €50 million on innovation over the next five years. The first measure of that commitment was the opening of our Innovation Centre in Newbridge, Co. Kildare during the year. This centre is tasked with fostering innovation throughout the Group in line with Bord na Móna’s vision.

A great deal of work is already going on around the world breeding algal strains for energy production. This is something our innovation team is working on with the objective of using algae as a power station fuel in the future. In our Horticulture business we are using composted green waste as the primary source of peat dilution under the B&Q brand. In addition we are looking at technologies to convert peat into platform chemicals which can be made into plastics and other valuable products.

We are looking at a number of innovations to provide sustainable home heating solutions and have partnered with Sustainable Energy Ireland’s Dundalk 2020 project, supplying heat to the Dundalk Institute of Technology, the hospital and some nearby housing estates. One of the sustainable fuels used by Combined Heat and Power plants may be gas. Some of the organic waste collected by the Resource Recovery business could be turned into synthetic natural gas, either for district heating systems or to be fed into the natural gas grid as is done already elsewhere in Europe.

We are exploring ways to use less peat including incorporating sawdust into our peat briquettes. We launched an eco briquette during the year which is being well received by the market.

Outside of product innovation we are also challenging the organisation to innovate across service, process and technology. This drive will be at the core of all our activities over the coming years.

More and improved innovation is essential for the survival of Bord na Móna and for the national economy. There are two ways to grow: through mergers and acquisitions or through innovation. Bord na Móna will pursue both.