Pakistan is set to build its first full-scale plant that turns agricultural waste into clean energy. Academics from Northumbria University in the UK have secured nearly £1.25 million in UK government funding for the Safer Plus project.
The plant will convert cotton stalks and sugarcane waste into bio-coal pellets using a heating process called torrefaction. Every year, farmers in Punjab burn millions of tonnes of this crop residue, which adds to air pollution and seasonal smog. The new facility will stop much of that burning by giving the waste real value.
A women-led biomass cooperative will collect and supply the waste. More than 120 nearby households will receive formal payments for material that farmers currently pay to dispose of. At least 60% of training places will go to women, and payments will go straight to their mobile wallets, creating new income for rural women.
The bio-coal pellets can replace imported coal in brick kilns and textile mill boilers at 40% to 50% lower cost. Pakistan spends more than $2.5 billion each year on coal imports for industry. Three Pakistani textile manufacturers have already signed letters of commitment to test the bio-coal as boiler fuel.
Project lead Dr. Jibran Khaliq said the team spent six years on research and is now building a live commercial facility that Pakistan can copy and expand. This project turns a pollution problem into cleaner energy, lower costs for industry, and better livelihoods for rural communities.