Hi everyone and thanks for visiting my crowd funding page

My name is Alex Fielding; I’m currently an Economics student at the University of Sheffield who has recently started a company called ‘The Biomass Project’ – a renewable energy company. I’ve made this page to as I require funding to carry on my research which is explained below:

In 2010 over 5% of the electricity generated in the UK was by the combustion of biomass material.  Biomass is the largest type of renewable energy in the UK and one of the fastest growing. However critics of biomass insist that it forces society to make a tough decision:

To choose food or fuel?

Biomass is the fastest growing energy in the UK with over £1 billion invested in biomass fired coal stations over the last decade – many of which are due to come online in the next 3 years. However the UK currently imports over 40% of its biomass needs from Europe – when in fact the British climate with having modest rainfall and a mild climate is one of the most suited places in the world to produce energy crops.

After visiting a biomass factory in early 2011 I was really interested in the industry and this is where my story really begins. After months of background research I started looking at the feasibility of growing energy crops – specifically poplar and willow trees - in areas of land that are unsuited to produce food such as marshland on relatively steep hillsides.

My research began by purchasing the cuttings of species of trees with the quickest yield ratio (how quick the tree grows) and species of hardy trees (trees that are able to stay alive in extreme conditions – be that flooding, extreme climate or poor soil). Using a technique called root grafting I created various hybrid trees and went about planting them in locations across the North West of England that have traditionally been unfit for growth.

Based on our results so far and looking at research I have taken while visiting various biomass companies it seems feasible that hybrid energy crops could yield up to 25 tonnes of biomass material every 3 years per hectare, meaning that just 2 acres of planted land could supply the electricity needs for 25 households.

There are currently millions of hectares of land across the UK that may well be able to support growth of biomass crops.

I now require funding to buy some larger tree cuttings of certain species of poplar and willow trees – using larger cuttings will give us a better indication as to whether the crops can grow without the need of an incubation period – which in reality is the only commercially viable solution. This means that instead of paying 14p per cutting I will be paying about 75p per cutting.

I have asked for £2000 of which I will spend £1400 on plant cuttings and the remaining £600 to pay for a 5 page website design and company logo.

Thanks for reading and  if you think you could help in any way possible to this project then please contact me on alex.fielding@thebiomassproject.com

Alex