Programme
Tenfold NetZero Accelerator Programme
About Tenfold
Tenfold NetZero demonstrates how Northern Ireland’s public and private sector can work together to develop solutions that benefit industry, drive innovation, achieve green growth and hopefully create sustainable business models that can be emulated across DAERA’s sectors.
Andrew Muir
Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
In November 2023, DAERA announced its partnership with Digital Catapult on a new innovation programme to provide local businesses with the opportunity to access the UK’s world class technology community to tackle challenges they face in the drive towards Net Zero. The Tenfold NetZero Accelerator programme will aim to develop innovative methods for Dale Farm, AgriSearch and Encirc that will help improve efficiency on-farm linked to feed management and usage, and easy access to nutrient data; as well as help reduce waste during the production of dark glass bottles.
The Climate Change Act 2022 sets an ambitious target to reduce Northern Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions to Net Zero by 2050 and it is hoped the programme can deliver sustainable climate action solutions and help local business achieve net zero. The programme also aligns with the DAERA Innovation Strategy which aims to support the development of an innovation ecosystem to deliver on the Executive’s Green Growth Agenda.
Through the programme, each industry challenge has been paired with an innovative technical solution provider to craft a proof-of-concept, marking the initial step towards addressing the identified challenges. DAERA and Digital Catapult are firmly committed to fostering economic growth by promoting the industrial adoption of pioneering solutions. These efforts seek to bolster companies’ competitiveness and resilience by pairing sustainability with digitalisation. The programme serves as a testament to the value of strategic collaboration among key stakeholders in pursuit of these objectives.
The Challenges and Technology Solution Providers
Dale Farm Challenge
How can the application of IoT enable more accurate measuring and use of feed at a farm-level across Dale Farm’s co-operative, including farms of different technology maturity, contributing to improved economic and sustainability outcomes?
With a workforce of over 1,200 individuals spread across the UK and Ireland, Dale Farm stands out as one of the largest and most expansive dairy companies in the UK. The company’s operations span the entire food chain, from producing animal feed to collecting milk from farms, processing dairy products, and delivering them to stores. Dale Farm’s dairy products find their way into retail, foodservice, and ingredient markets across more than 45 countries.
Dale Farm recognises the abundance of data sources at its disposal, which can significantly enhance decision-making regarding resource allocation and operational efficiencies on their farms. They anticipate that leveraging data more effectively can positively impact various business aspects, including monitoring feed levels on partner farms, tracking bulk feed intake on individual farms, and monitoring feed consumption at the individual animal level.
Their challenge lies in exploring how the application of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies can facilitate more accurate measurement and utilization of feed at a farm-level across Dale Farm’s cooperative, encompassing farms of varying technology maturity. This initiative aims to contribute to improved economic and sustainability outcomes.
Lagan Networks
Digital Catapult are delighted to announce that Lagan Networks LTD have been selected for the Dale Farm Challenge.
Lagan Networks are dedicated to making a difference to their clients by creating simple and effective digital solutions using intuitive and intelligent sensor systems. Their team is made up of expert personnel with many years of commercial, industrial and IT experience, with specialist technical knowledge in the area of network technologies.
The Tenfold NetZero Accelerator programme with Digital Catapult will enable Lagan Networks to showcase the potential of cutting-edge IoT and network technologies to improve feed management across Dale Farm’s cooperative.
Mark Walmsley
Commercial Director, Lagan Networks
AgriSearch Challenge
What new data visualisation tools can help drive behaviour change amongst farmers towards improved organic manure application (nutrient management), leading to positive economic and environmental outcomes across Northern Ireland farms?
At the heart of AgriSearch’s mission is the commitment to delivering tangible benefits to primary producers, with a focus on cost reduction, performance enhancement, fostering innovation, and improving animal welfare. The organisation prioritises avoiding duplication of existing research and aims to maximise the utilisation of complementary funding sources wherever possible.
The challenge at hand revolves around optimising nutrient management practices across farms in the region and harnessing the potential of new data visualisation tools to instigate behavioral changes among farmers. This shift is aimed at promoting improved organic manure application practices, which in turn can yield positive economic and environmental outcomes for Northern Irish farms.
Currently, farmers encounter challenges in planning and executing the use of fertilisers on their land. With a gap in effectively utilising organic manures, and engagement within the farming community lacking; increased adoption of organic manures not only reduces expenditure on manufactured fertilisers but also mitigates nutrient losses into the environment, thereby positively impacting issues related to soil and water quality.
Soil Benchmark
We are excited to share that Soil Benchmark has been selected to take on the AgriSearch Challenge.
The core ambition of Soil Benchmark is to harness the huge amount of underutilised data from farms and government organisations to shape a future where healthy soils support profitable farms delivering nutritious food, clean-rivers, thriving wildlife and carbon removal. Their team comprises experts in soil science as well as data management.
With our Soil Management Plans now used across hundreds of thousands of hectares in England, we are excited to expand to Northern Ireland through the fantastic Tenfold NetZero Accelerator in collaboration with Digital Catapult.
Tom Scrope
Co-Founder and CEO, Soil Benchmark
Encirc Challenge
How can improved bottle inspection technologies increase successful defect detection within dark glass containers, reducing the need to conduct rework and associated energy consumption and cost?
Established in 1998 with its first plant situated in Northern Ireland, Encirc has evolved into a market leader in glass container design, manufacturing, bottling and logistics solutions for the UK and Irish food and beverage industries. Renowned not only for its market leadership but also for its unparalleled commitment to sustainability, Encirc stands out as the foremost eco-conscious entity in its industry worldwide.
Encirc has put forth a challenge aimed at rectifying deficiencies in the current inspection capabilities within its bottling plant. Specifically, the focus is on enhancing bottle inspection technologies to bolster defect detection rates within Encirc’s dark glass containers. This improvement initiative seeks to minimise the necessity for rework while curbing associated energy consumption and costs. Given the distinctive color and opacity of the dark glass container they produce, conventional quality inspection methods encounter limitations. Being the sole global supplier of this particular product, Encirc faces the challenge that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of glass inspection machinery possess limited expertise in inspection techniques tailored to this specific glass type.
i3D Robotics
Digital Catapult are excited to reveal that i3D Robotics LTD, in collaboration with Glass Technology Services have been selected to tackle the Encirc Challenge.
I3D Robotics is designing a new generation of flexible 3D vision systems for autonomous and robotics applications – their 3D stereo vision technologies helps provide real-time control, using AI software for defect detection and object recognition. Their experienced team members come from a wide range of academic and commercial backgrounds, including machine vision, space, optics and photonics.
i3D robotics relishes the opportunity to be part of this initiative. Industry requires significant reform in its processes to meet net-zero targets. The opacity of dark glass presents a challenge when identifying potentially catastrophic defects. We’re bringing advanced integrated digital learning and laser-based optical imaging systems developed for float glass quality inspection and aim to adapt these technologies for dark glass inspection. If successful, the system should be easily adaptable to other glass-based industries, significantly reducing waste, costs, and carbon emissions. We’re excited about the potential impact this could have on the industry.
Dr Richard French
Senior Systems Analyst, i3D Robotics Ltd