Start-up from Bordeaux makes pellets from cleared vines

The start-up company Vinea Énergie from Bordeaux processes cleared vines into pellets. To do this, the operators collect the wood directly from the vintner and then turn it into biofuel. The aim is to reduce CO2 emissions and to use the cleared vines for energy production. Winemaker Laurent Mauvillain cultivates 30 hectares of organic vineyards in Braud-et-Saint-Louis (Gironde). He used to burn the vines directly in the vineyard, but now he leaves the wood to Vinea Énergie. "All you have to do is give the GPS position and clean the woodpile of wood and iron stakes. Then they are collected free of charge," Mauvillain explains to the online magazine Vitisphère.

Alice Shaw, co-founder and managing director of Vinea Énergie, underlines that the winegrowers received a certificate on the amount of CO2 not released, which is relevant for the environmental certifications Haute Valeur Environnementale, HVE, and ISO 14 000. The recycling of Vinea Énergie leads to a reduction of the released CO2 of up to 60 percent.

(ru /source: Vitisphère; photo: 123rf.com)