By KLTV Newsdesk –

Academics at the University of Huddersfield collaborated on a project to introduce AI-driven monitoring to a scheme for generating carbon removal credits through sustainable agroforestry food systems.

AI experts at the University teamed up with UK climate tech startup Tierra Foods, which pioneered a system centred on plants that perform biomineralisation – capturing carbon from the atmosphere and effectively turning it into stone.

Leveraging AI Technology

Through a nine-month, £690,000 research project, the University team leveraged a range of AI technologies to design and develop a new methodology to monitor and measure the effects of such biomineralisation-centric systems.

While most forestry projects focused on organic, photosynthetic carbon sequestration, Tierra Foods’ approach included using specific plants with an increased ability to mineralise atmospheric carbon. These plants naturally converted carbon to calcium carbonate, storing it in the soil.

This had significant environmental benefits by directly reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and aiding asset management companies, food and agriculture multinationals, and related industries seeking to achieve net zero or incorporate nature-based solutions into their value chains via biomineralisation.

However, there was currently no robust mechanism to monitor and measure these effects – essential for mobilising investment and allowing the sale of carbon insets and offsets.

Dr George Bargiannis of the University’s School of Computing and Engineering led the project, alongside his academic colleagues Dr Emmanuel Papadakis and Professor Simon Parkinson.

Digital Representation

Dr Bargiannis, Deputy Director of the University’s Centre for Autonomous and Intelligent Systems (CAIS), commented: “We created a digital representation of the carbon capture process, including all relevant biogeochemical factors and metrics.

“We then fed this representation, combined with data collected by Tierra Foods, into machine learning algorithms to create models that could forecast the amount of carbon captured over a time period.

“These models were optimised through the integration of a wider range of data, from soil measurements to satellite imagery, to maximise accuracy and robustness of the produced predictions.”

For the development of the methodology, Tierra Foods focused on the use of English Oak at field sites across the UK, and Brosimum Alicastrum (also known as ramón or uje) trees at sites in Mexico.

Leading Academics

Marcela Flores, CEO of Tierra Foods, commented: “We have worked with leading academics from Universities in Zurich, Neuchâtel, Merida, and Bournemouth in the field of biomineralisation, along with our in-house global experts.

“The next step is to integrate our findings through software-based technology, and put the technology at the service of industry to widen the adoption of nature-based solutions.

“We are delighted to have the backing of Innovate UK, supporting the partnership with the University of Huddersfield to provide a science-based, rigorous approach to maximise accuracy, identify optimum locations for our projects, and measure, monitor, and forecast the amount of highly durable, biomineralised carbon captured over time.”

Funding Backed

Backed by £496,000 of Innovate UK funding, the University recruited a team of researchers to carry out the project under the supervision of the academic leadership team.

Innovate UK is the country’s national innovation agency, supporting business-led innovation in all sectors and technologies, helping businesses grow through the development and commercialisation of new products, processes, and services.