Looking ahead and new ideas in Living Lab Västra Götaland

Publicerad den

On 4 December, farmers, researchers and industry stakeholders gathered at Lagerhuset in Vara for a workshop within Living Lab Västra Götaland. The day featured results from this year’s activities, new perspectives from the project’s other Living Labs, and an energetic discussion on which trials to take forward into 2026.

This year’s activities







We began the day with a review of the activities carried out during 2025. The focus has been on rapeseed straw, pea straw, and undersown catch crops in winter wheat.

During the year, we have, among other things:

  • Harvested pea straw and rapeseed straw, which were subsequently test-digested at Fröstorps Biogas and at Kanadevia Inova Biogas in Jönköping.







  • Tested the feeding of straw into biogas plants and shared valuable insights regarding handling and gas yield.







  • Carried out trials at Lanna farm with undersown catch crops in high straw stubble, where SLU presented data on biomass yields.

Inspiration from other Living Labs, research, and entrepreneurs




To look ahead towards 2026, we were during the day able to draw on experiences from Halland, Skåne, Denmark, as well as other actors driving development forward. Click on the heading to view the presentation.

Straw and catch crops for biogas production – Søren Ugilt Larsen, Aarhus University
Harvesting of winter rapeseed stalks, collection of chaff, and chopped rapeseed straw as bedding material – Sara Bergström Nilsson, HS Halland
Pelletised rapeseed straw as bedding material for finishing pigs, poultry, horses, and cattle – Lars-Erik Jansson, Laga Bioenergi
Gas yield from straw and the importance of moisture content – Carina Gunnarsson & Leticia Pizzul, RISE
Leaves and straw from grain maize and experiences from Living Lab Skåne – Ulf Jobacker, Living Lab Skåne

The presentations generated many concrete ideas and reflections on new applications for agricultural residual streams, as well as opportunities for how we can broaden and deepen our trials in the coming years.

Workshop: priorities and ideas for 2026

During a concluding workshop, participants discussed which trials should be prioritised for the coming year. Among the areas that generated particularly strong interest were:

  • Further development of harvesting methods for straw and catch crops







  • Technical solutions for the collection of chaff and fines







  • Trials focusing on rapeseed straw as bedding material and as a biogas substrate







📌 Next steps

Living Lab Västra Götaland will now take the participants’ input forward into the continued work. Results from this year’s trials, together with the new knowledge presented during the day, provide a strong foundation for further development of circular solutions for biomass in agriculture.

Thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to an inspiring and forward-looking day!