The Department of Trade and Industry have just announced a £2 million grant to support a Science and Innovation project to develop a commercially viable gasification system for generating energy from wastes from leather and leather products. The two-year project will be led by the Northampton-based BLC Leather Technology Centre Ltd.

Victoria Addy, BLC technical director, said: ‘It is a win-win situation. We are taking materials that would otherwise be going to landfill and instead using them to supply heat and power. So companies would reduce the amount of waste they dispose of and the amount of energy they have to buy in. ‘It is something that we have been working on for five years and this is the second DTI grant we have received. We are still negotiating the final details but hopefully we will be fully on board by April.’

Contact Vikki Addy, tel +44 (0)1604 679953; email@ vikki@blcleathertech.com