The root cause Trinity’s Professor Michael Morris leads a pioneering project, harnessing Irish wood’s potential for sustainable growth through innovative applications like batteries and biocomposites W hat if in the future batteries, chemicals, composites, medicines, and plastics could be made from wood? Our work is Professor Morris remarks, ‘Wood is not only of enormous climate benefit in the sequestration of carbon dioxide but also a wonderful material, it is high strength, light Although wood-based products are ubiquitous in our daily lives – see books, buildings, furniture, and tissue paper – we can sometimes take them for granted. A team of Trinity and Irish researchers are addressing how innovative future wood- looking at new and innovative uses of wood that advance its carbon benefits and durable for hundreds of years. Our work is looking at new and innovative uses of wood that advance its carbon benefits whilst contributing to sustainable technological development.’ Compared to other European countries, based products will impact our citizens. Ireland has undergone rapid afforestation Trinity chemist, Professor Michael Morris, leads a large- scale research project into high-value applications of Irish wood. The NXTGENWOOD project draws on interdisciplinary research expertise in five of the main Irish universities, and has a budget of more than €3.2m, via the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). in recent decades. Ireland has gone from 1% forest cover in 1900 to a current level of 11.6% forest cover. By government policy and climate targets, DAFM aims for Ireland to have 18% forest cover by 2050. Ireland has therefore rapidly become a nation of forest owners (approximately 25,000), and there will be a marked increase to an estimated 8 million cubic metres
Download PDF file