# UK University to Lead Pakistan’s First Full-Scale Agricultural Waste-to-Energy Project
**LONDON:** A UK university has secured nearly **£1.25 million in funding** to develop Pakistan’s first full-scale facility converting agricultural waste into clean energy, potentially providing an alternative fuel source for industries while creating new income opportunities for rural women.
**Northumbria University’s School of Engineering, Physics and Mathematics** is leading the project, known as **Safer Plus**, which will convert agricultural residues such as cotton stalks and sugarcane waste into biofuel.
Millions of tonnes of crop residue are burned in Punjab every year, contributing significantly to air pollution and the seasonal smog crisis. The new project aims to provide farmers with a commercial alternative to burning or disposing of agricultural waste.
The waste will be processed into **bio-coal pellets** through a thermal treatment process known as **torrefaction**. The pellets could potentially replace imported coal in brick kilns and textile mill boilers at an estimated **40-50 per cent lower cost**.
Dr Jibran Khaliq, one of the academics leading the project, said Pakistan spends more than **$2.5 billion annually on coal imports** to meet industrial energy requirements, while millions of tonnes of crop residue are burned because there is currently little commercial value attached to the waste.
### Women to Benefit from Biomass Supply Chain
A key component of the project is the establishment of a **women-led biomass cooperative** that will collect and supply agricultural waste to the facility.
According to Northumbria University, women in rural South Punjab can spend between **three and six hours a day collecting fuelwood** and frequently perform unpaid work on family farms.
Through the cooperative, more than **120 households** located near the proposed facility will be able to earn formal income from agricultural residues that farmers currently have to pay to dispose of.
At least **60 per cent of training places** under the project will be reserved for women. Payments will be made directly into participants’ mobile wallets, giving them greater control over their earnings.
### Textile Industry to Trial Bio-Coal
Three Pakistani textile manufacturers have already signed letters of commitment to test the bio-coal as a fuel for their industrial boilers.
“This is not another laboratory study,” said Dr Khaliq, adding that the research team had spent six years developing the technology and was now moving towards establishing a commercial-scale facility.
The project aims to demonstrate a commercially viable model that can be replicated and expanded across Pakistan, transforming agricultural waste into a source of affordable industrial energy while reducing crop-residue burning and creating rural employment opportunities.
The initiative could ultimately help Pakistan reduce its reliance on imported coal, tackle agricultural air pollution and develop a locally owned waste-to-energy industry.
