[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":45},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f18ap2ci2omfft":3,"$fbd6782pb4m9u":15},{"slug":4,"category":5,"date":6,"headline":7,"lead":8,"image":9,"imageAlt":10,"body":11,"source":12},"certh-technical-research-support","RND","2026-10-22","CERTH — Technical Research Support","European research expertise supporting EHOSS in biogas, biomass and circular resource solutions — through the Horizon Europe project ALFA, EHOSS connected with the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas.","\u002Fimages\u002Feducation\u002Fresearch-microscope.jpg","A researcher at a laboratory microscope","CERTH (Centre for Research and Technology Hellas) is one of Greece’s major research organisations. Its Chemical Process & Energy Resources Institute (CPERI) operates facilities in Thessaloniki and Ptolemaida and works on energy, environmental technologies, biomass, waste valorisation and renewable fuels. CERTH’s Natural Resources & Renewable Energies Laboratory (NRRE) explicitly includes renewable energy production such as biogas among its research targets and highlights collaboration with industry and specialised services for external stakeholders.\n\nCERTH was a consortium partner in ALFA, the Horizon Europe project “Scaling up the market uptake of Renewable Energy Systems by unlocking the biogas potential of Agriculture and Livestock FArming” (Grant Agreement 101075659). ALFA supported livestock-sector stakeholders through regional hubs and demand-driven business, financial and technical services aimed at increasing the uptake of biogas solutions across Europe.\n\nALFA’s operational documentation assigned CERTH a central technical-support role: CERTH, together with other technical partners where needed, helped identify project-specific technical needs and define the support to be provided. The service portfolio included concept design for biogas systems, preliminary evaluation of biogas potential, energy and environmental analysis, implementation and monitoring support, and assessment of biogas utilisation pathways.\n\nEHOSS participated in ALFA support and validation activities rather than as a member of the ALFA consortium. This distinction is important: the official ALFA evaluation report lists EHOSS among external experts participating in the validation workshop, under the stakeholder category “Farming Consultant”.\n\nWithin the technical support process, EHOSS received a dedicated Service 7 report focused on biogas potential and infrastructure. Company project correspondence documents direct work with CERTH experts on the Greek part of the study, including updates to the list and locations of operating agricultural and livestock biogas plants. CERTH also offered follow-up laboratory support in Greece through manure nutrient profiling at its Ptolemaida facilities.\n\nFor EHOSS, the cooperation means access to European research expertise in biogas and biomass valorisation; independent technical input for evaluating biogas infrastructure and market conditions; a pathway to laboratory characterisation of manure and other biomass streams; and research contacts that can support future validation, pilot work and expansion in Greece.\n\nThe CERTH–EHOSS interaction is a practical example of how EHOSS connects product development with external research capacity. It combines a European project framework (ALFA \u002F Horizon Europe), a technical study of biogas infrastructure and preliminary biogas potential, research support from CERTH \u002F CPERI expertise in renewable energy, biomass and biogas, and the potential for future validation through substrate and manure characterisation, pilot and laboratory work.\n\nCERTH is headquartered in Thermi, Thessaloniki. Its NRRE laboratory also maintains long-standing research cooperation with the Department of Chemical Engineering at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, which places CERTH within a broader academic and applied-research ecosystem relevant to energy, chemical engineering and sustainable technologies.\n\nThrough the European ALFA project, EHOSS connected with CERTH research expertise in biogas, biomass and renewable-energy systems. The cooperation supported technical analysis of biogas infrastructure and created a basis for further laboratory validation and research activities in Greece.",{"name":13,"url":14},"CORDIS — ALFA (101075659)","https:\u002F\u002Fcordis.europa.eu\u002Fproject\u002Fid\u002F101075659",{"items":16,"total":44},[17,29,31],{"slug":18,"category":5,"date":6,"headline":19,"lead":20,"image":21,"imageAlt":22,"body":23,"figures":24,"source":28},"alfa-evaluation-of-biogas-potential","ALFA: Evaluation of Biogas Potential","EHOSS received the technical support service Service 7 within the Horizon Europe project ALFA. A dedicated report prepared for EHOSS maps the existing biogas infrastructure in Denmark, Greece and Italy, and ALFA's public report lists EHOSS among the participants of its validation workshop as a “Farming Consultant”.","\u002Fimages\u002Fprojects-biomass.jpg","An aerial view of a livestock farm — long barns, a manure tank and silage stores between fields and woodland","ALFA (Scaling up the market uptake of Renewable Energy Systems by unlocking the biogas potential of Agriculture and Livestock FArming) was a Horizon Europe project, grant agreement ID 101075659, run from 1 November 2022 to 31 October 2025. The project worked in Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Slovakia and Spain, and supported the uptake of biogas solutions in the livestock sector through technical, business and financial services.\n\nEHOSS's involvement is documented in two places. In the individual technical report for Service 7, EHOSS is named as the “Beneficiary Name”. In ALFA's official public report D4.2 — Report on evaluation of market uptake support measures, Second Round — EHOSS is listed among the participants of the validation workshop, under the stakeholder category “Farming Consultant” (Annex IV, p. 52). We therefore present EHOSS as a recipient of technical support and a participant in expert validation activities — not as a member of the ALFA consortium.\n\nService 7: Evaluation of Biogas Potential Based on Preliminary Calculations belonged to ALFA's technical support portfolio. The official description of the service focuses on preliminary calculations of biogas potential and on choosing suitable substrate combinations with regard to biogas yield. The dedicated output delivered to EHOSS concentrates mainly on existing biogas plants and infrastructure in Denmark, Greece and Italy.\n\nThe analysis covered the regional distribution of biogas plants in the three countries; the ways the biogas produced is used and how far it is upgraded to biomethane; selected parts of the existing infrastructure, including storage, compression and injection into the gas grid; and the sources of feedstock and regional production capacities, as far as the available data allow.\n\nDenmark. In 2024, 146 biogas plants were in operation in Denmark. Most of them were in the regions of Syddanmark (49) and Midtjylland (44). The report divides them by the final use of the biogas into direct use, partial upgrading and full upgrading to biomethane.\n\nGreece. In 2024, Greece had 67 operating biogas units with a total installed capacity of 123.67 MW, of which 70 MW came from agriculture and livestock farming.\n\nItaly. According to the report, 2,010 biogas plants were in operation in Italy, with capacities from about 2 kW to 15 MW. Of these, 85 were dedicated to biomethane production, so the spatial data are presented mainly by region.\n\nWhat it means for EHOSS. The Service 7 output gives EHOSS a reference overview of the scale and geographic distribution of biogas infrastructure in selected European countries. That information forms the expert context for EHOSS's further work on biomass, the circular use of organic materials and cooperation with research and industrial partners.",{"3":25},{"src":26,"alt":27},"\u002Fimages\u002Fnewsroom\u002Falfa-biogas-maps.jpg","Regional maps of biogas plants in Denmark, Greece and Italy from the Service 7 technical report, each region labelled with its number of plants",{"name":13,"url":14},{"slug":4,"category":5,"date":6,"headline":7,"lead":8,"image":9,"imageAlt":10,"body":11,"source":30},{"name":13,"url":14},{"slug":32,"category":5,"date":33,"headline":34,"lead":35,"image":36,"imageAlt":37,"video":38,"clips":39,"body":43},"why-hay-analysis-matters","2026-08-27","Why hay analysis matters: EHOSS prepares a new quality control approach for horse feed","Moisture, protein, fibre, mould, minerals and heavy metals — the tests EHOSS is preparing with accredited laboratories, and why a bale that looks acceptable from the outside can still be a health risk.","\u002Fvideos\u002Fhay-analysis.jpg","A bay and a grey horse at the paddock rail, feeding from hay spread along the fence line","\u002Fvideos\u002Fhay-analysis.mp4",[40,41,42],"\u002Fvideos\u002Fhay-analysis-1.mp4","\u002Fvideos\u002Fhay-analysis-2.mp4","\u002Fvideos\u002Fhay-analysis-3.mp4","For every stable, hay and straw are more than just daily feed or bedding. They are one of the main factors influencing the health, digestion, respiratory condition and overall performance of a horse. Poor-quality hay can look acceptable from the outside, but inside the bale it may already be overheated, mouldy, rotten or contaminated.\n\nThe photo attached to this article shows a real example of hay packaging that has started to heat, ferment and rot. Such material often has a strong characteristic smell and may contain mould, fungi and toxins. For horses, this is not a cosmetic defect — it is a serious health risk.\n\nEHOSS, together with accredited laboratories, is preparing to support a structured system of hay and straw testing. The goal is to help stables, horse owners, suppliers and equestrian facilities better understand what they are actually feeding to their animals.\n\nThe planned analysis focuses on several key areas.\n\nThe first group includes basic physical, chemical and mycological indicators: moisture, crude protein, fibre and mould contamination. Moisture is especially important. If hay is too dry, it becomes dusty and can irritate the respiratory system. If it is too wet, it may heat inside the bale, rot, grow mould and become dangerous for digestion.\n\nProtein and fibre also play an important role. Too little protein can affect muscle condition, growth, coat quality and lactation in mares. Too much protein may overload metabolism and increase ammonia levels in the stable. Fibre is essential for normal gut function, but old, over-mature hay with excessive fibre becomes poorly digestible and can increase the risk of intestinal problems.\n\nThe second group of tests includes minerals and potentially dangerous elements. Calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, zinc, copper, iron, manganese, selenium and cobalt are important for bones, muscles, nerves, hooves, coat quality and metabolism. However, their balance is critical. For example, calcium and phosphorus must be evaluated in the correct ratio, while zinc and copper also need to be considered together.\n\nThe analysis may also include heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, aluminium, tin, chromium, nickel and antimony. These substances should not be ignored, especially if hay comes from areas close to industry, roads, contaminated soil or unknown storage conditions.\n\nFor EHOSS, this direction is a natural part of a broader mission: to improve stable management through technology, data and responsible processes. A modern stable should not rely only on visual inspection or smell. Laboratory data can help identify risks before they become veterinary problems.\n\nHay that smells wrong, heats inside the package, contains mould or shows signs of rotting should never be treated as “just lower quality feed”. It can seriously damage the respiratory system, digestion, liver, kidneys, immune response and overall condition of the horse.\n\nBy working with accredited laboratories, EHOSS aims to bring more transparency to forage quality control and help horse facilities make safer decisions.\n\nBecause in equestrian care, quality hay is not just feed.\n\nIt is the foundation of horse health.",3,1792676017512]