Research project Energy Smart Livestock Farming towards Zero Fossil Fuel Consumption

General introduction

Intensive livestock production is one of the subsectors of agriculture where large amounts of fossil fuels are used. The energy demand is diverse, ranging from barn cooling/heating, use of appliances and tractors, lighting and ventilation. The RES4LIVE project - Renewable Energy for Livestock - aims to replace the use of fossil fuels in European livestock farming with smart and renewable energy.

Research approach

We develop integrated, cost-effective and case-specific renewable energy solutions and bring them to the market. The promising renewable energy techniques receive optimizations during the course of the project as a result of tests in energy-intensive livestock farms (pigs, dairy cattle and poultry) where the aim is to meet energy demand without or with minimal use of fossil fuels. We plan presentations and demos of specific and optimized techniques, combined with energy efficiency interventions, in 4 pilot houses (including the Pig Campus in Melle). We evaluate the techniques not only on a technical level, but also on an economic, ecological and social level.

Relevance/Valorization

The result of the RES4LIVE project is a range of advanced and cost-effective technologies for livestock production, which can tangibly promote the sustainability of operations and optimal thermal comfort for animals. It is expected that the developed technologies are capable of increasing productivity with minimal impact on the climate. Renewable energy technologies such as solar panels, heat pumps and biogas are becoming cheaper, more reliable and more performant. This means that there are also more opportunities for farmers to use these technologies. This project aims at developing and demonstrating these techniques, specifically for the livestock sector in the EU.

Financing

EU Horizon2020