Heizen mit Orchideen. Projekt “Prograss” nutzt artenreiche Wiesen zur Energieerzeugung

Heating with orchids Species‐rich meadows in Germany and Europe are highly threatened habitats. For conservation of these habitats regular cutting is necessary to prevent the invasion of high‐growing woody plants which otherwise would rule out the sun‐loving meadow species. However, due to a low energy content the extracted biomass is not well suitable for modern agricultural use or conventional energy production. Currently, scientists of the University of Kassel apply a new procedure which converts the species‐rich biomass into solid fuel for thermal combustion. During this process the extracted plant fluids are fermented to biogas, whereas the solid plant remains are pressed to pellets. In this manner the scientists intend to contribute to nature and climate protection as well as to an additional income for farmers.