CO₂ capture from a biomass boiler in the greenhouse: lessons from DES Sirjansland

For greenhouse growers, CO₂ is not a luxury — it is a production input as essential as water and light. Yet reliable, affordable access to CO₂ is becoming harder to secure. CHP units are running fewer hours, industrial CO₂ supplies are under pressure, and the cost of delivered liquid CO₂ continues to rise. For a group of tomato growers in Sirjansland, in the Dutch province of Zeeland, the answer was to stop relying on external supply altogether.

The result, now operational for over six years, is one of the longest-running commercial installations of Galloxol® CO₂ capture technology — and a reference point for growers across Europe and beyond who are asking the same question: can we produce our own CO₂, on-site, from our existing energy infrastructure?

Building CO₂ capture from a biomass boiler: how DES was born

The story starts with heat, not CO₂. In 2017, Marc Groenewegen of South West Growers and several fellow growers established Duurzame Energie Sirjansland (DES) with a straightforward goal: reduce dependence on natural gas by generating heat from biomass. CO₂ capture came into focus later, once it became clear that the flue gases from the biomass plant were a valuable and largely untapped source of biogenic CO₂.

For the capture technology, the group selected a system developed by Frames — now continued by Green Gas & Liquids — which had already proven itself in food and beverage applications. The DES facility opened in June 2019. Today, captured CO₂ is stored in buffer vessels on-site and dosed to the greenhouse precisely when and in the quantity the crop requires.

Three advantages growers see in practice

After years of operation, Marc is clear about what sets biomass-captured CO₂ apart from the alternatives.

Cleaner CO₂, safer dosing. Monitoring data from an in-house air quality sensor consistently shows lower NOx and ethylene concentrations with DES CO₂ compared to CHP-sourced CO₂. For young plants in particular — which are sensitive to elevated NOx levels — this matters. The cleaner profile allows the grower to apply higher CO₂ concentrations with greater confidence.

Precision and flexibility. A CHP unit produces CO₂ as a by-product of electricity generation: it is either running or it is not. DES operates on a modulating basis, allowing CO₂ to be dosed in direct response to light intensity, temperature, and vapour pressure deficit. South West Growers has optimised this logic in collaboration with their climate computer supplier, and now continues dosing even at elevated temperatures, provided humidity parameters allow.

Lower cost. The economics are straightforward. On-site biogenic CO₂ is significantly cheaper than liquid CO₂ delivered by road tanker — a cost Marc found striking when he first visited the Lepelstraat site, which at the time relied on tanker deliveries. As industrial CO₂ becomes scarcer and more expensive, the financial case for on-site capture strengthens further.

CO₂ enrichment and yield: the evidence is building

Marc’s conviction about the impact of CO₂ on crop performance is grounded in data, not intuition. Biomass sensor data from the Trutina system by Gremon Systems showed a stronger and faster increase in dry matter and biomass accumulation at Sirjansland compared to benchmarked peers. International visits reinforced this picture: in New Zealand, growers who had previously operated with CO₂ levels below ambient outdoor concentrations saw the biggest single yield improvement simply by raising CO₂ to outdoor levels.

The takeaway is straightforward: bringing CO₂ up to — and above — ambient concentrations is one of the highest-return interventions available in protected cultivation. Having a reliable, controllable, on-site source makes that intervention consistent rather than dependent on grid availability or tanker schedules.

A proven model for growers considering on-site CO₂ production

The DES project demonstrates what is achievable when growers combine a biomass heat source with Galloxol® CO₂ capture technology. The system is modular and can be scaled to a single operation or shared across a group of growers with a common energy source. Integration with existing biomass boilers, CHP units, or geothermal installations is straightforward.

If you are evaluating on-site CO₂ production for your greenhouse operation, we would welcome the conversation.

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Source: Thijmen Tiersma, HortiDaily.com, 13 March 2026. Read the original article.