Ignition09

Ignition09 was the UK’s first dedicated woodfuel expo and provided a Europe wide showcase for the rapidly growing industry.

Attended by over 800 people from across the UK, the Expo was held over two days in March 2009 at the prestigious Sage Gateshead on the banks of the River Tyne. The crowning point in the NEWHeat project, Ignition09 not only showcased the North East as the best region in England for its support of the woodfuel sector, but was also a great opportunity for networking of individuals, organisations, and businesses.  

Funded by One NorthEast, the event included exhibitions, workshops, field trips, and speakers from the wood fuel and energy management industries from across the UK and Europe. The study tours and talks were very well received, and special praise was reserved for the kick‐off 'heated debate', which featured Jonathon Porritt as the keynote speaker and had 5 experts sitting on the panel to answer questions from the audience. These ranged from “If you could change one thing to improve the take‐up of biomass in the UK, what would it be?”; to “Are the myriad existing policies just complicating the issue – would we be better off just getting rid of the lot of them?”.