On February 20th, 2023, Dr. Ashish Vashishtha, South East Technological University (SETU- Ireland) paid a visit to USTH within the framework of the project NF/2022/38292743: “Techno-economic, Environmental and social Impact Assessment of waste to Synthetic fuel technologies”, funded by the Irish Research Council and presented in the seminar “Wastes-to-energy: case of biomass gasification”.
Dr. Ashish Vashishtha, from South East Technological University – Ireland, has been collaborating with the “Sustainable Energy and Environmental Development” Research group (USTH), led by Dr. Hong Nam Nguyen, on the research project: “SynergyFuel: Techno-economic, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of Waste to synthetic biofuel technologies in Circular Economy”. The research project was awarded funding under the Irish Research Council (IRC)’s New Foundations program. Its aim is to develop research partnerships between Ireland and Vietnam, supporting climate action and providing policy pathways to decarbonise the heavy-duty transport sector, which is heavily reliant on fossil fuels.
Synthetic biofuels from wastes and residues play an important role in the net-zero by 2050 pledge made by 137 countries at COP26, including Ireland and Vietnam. Synthetic biofuels from non-crop resources should meet 45% of total biofuel demand by 2030, compared with 7% in 2020. Among biochemical and thermochemical technologies, the latter is found to be beneficial for producing higher volumes of biofuel in a shorter time, co-producing electricity with flexible feedstocks and use of by-product by agricultural sector and industry.
On the visit, Dr. Ashish Vashishtha was warmly welcomed by Dr. Hong Nam Nguyen, his research team, and the students of USTH. In the seminar, Dr. Hong Nam Nguyen made a presentation on “Wastes-to-energy: case of biomass gasification” in Vietnam and had a meaningful discussion with Dr. Ashish Vashishtha together with the participants. Dr. Hong Nam Nguyen has conducted his research interest in biomass energy in Vietnam for many years. As developing renewable energy and circular economy is a common interest between Vietnam and Ireland, he hoped that the project funded by the Irish Research Council would open up a great opportunity for research collaboration on the issue of “waste-to-energy” between USTH and SETU, leading to technological, economical and societal advantages of both countries.
Dr. Ashish Vashishtha also presented about SETU, his research activities, and collaboration opportunities between SETU and USTH within the framework of the project. He expressed his excitement for the upcoming joint activities. At the end of his visit, Dr. Ashish Vashishtha took a tour around the USTH campus and hoped that he could welcome more lecturers and students of USTH to SETU and his lab in the future.
