Western Macedonia has grown in the last century mainly due to its coal deposits. Lignite mines and power plants were important local employers. The regional capital, Kozani, is still the leading energy producing area of Greece .

Across Europe, town and city councils are becoming increasingly interested in energy decentralisation , i.e. in producing power closer to where it is consumed.

Biochar and compost are of interest to agriculture. Particularly, when it comes to meet the goal of reducing mineral fertilisers and chemicals use.

The Swedish environmental engineer Edward Soméus invented in the early ’80s a CO 2 free technology, abiding by the 3R principles: Recycle-Reduce-Reuse, to manufacture a natural fertiliser called biochar .

Livestock produces a lot of waste. One solution is to turn such agricultural waste into biogas to generate energy .  It requires using so-called anaerobic digestion, which consists in breaking down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen.