Reed-canary grass for fuel

The team began their project in 2004 to see which plants could best be grown on brownfield sites, as a way of improving the landscape.

The native British grass can be turned into bricks and pellets, which burn well and are non-polluting.

The team experimented with four types of plant, willow trees - the current favourite for biomass power stations - and the miscanthus, reed-canary and switch grasses.

Tests were carried out on sites around the region, with work supported by a €1.2m (£1m) grant from the European Union’s Life-Environment research programme.

Dr Richard Lord, reader in Environmental Geochemistry and Sustainability, said: ‘We have narrowed the plants down to reed-canary grass because it grows well on poor soils and contaminated industrial sites. That is significant because, in areas like Teesside and many similar ones around the country, there are a lot of marginal or brownfield sites on which reed-canary grass can be grown.

‘Selecting such sites means that the grass can be grown without taking away land that would otherwise be used in food production, a key concern for those involved in the biomass and biofuel sectors.’