News
/

From manure to Molecules: Martin Bos takes the stage at Zwarte Cross

6 July 2026
What do a pile of manure and the bubbles in your beer have in common? More than you’d think. At Zwarte Cross, Martin Bos, Head of Technology at HoSt Group, returns to his roots as a University of Twente (UT) alumnus to explain how manure and organic waste are turned into green molecules and how CO2, often seen as a waste product, can become something genuinely valuable.

How anaerobic digestion transforms organic waste into renewable resources

Martin Bos will explain how manure and organic waste are converted into green molecules such as biomethane and bio-CO2. It’s a process that turns everyday waste streams into resources that power homes, industry, and even other products we use daily. Manure and organic residues are broken down through anaerobic digestion, producing biogas that is upgraded to biomethane, a direct, renewable replacement for natural gas, using biogas upgrading systems from Bright Renewables (part of HoSt Group). And the CO2 released along the way doesn’t have to go to waste: once captured and purified, it can be reused in greenhouses, in food and drink production, or even as a building block for new sustainable fuels.

HoSt and UT partner to develop E-Methanol from waste streams

Beyond biomethane and bio-CO2, HoSt and UT are joining forces to develop E-Methanol from these same waste streams. This collaboration bridges academic research and industrial application, pushing forward the technology needed to turn residual streams into a genuine renewable fuel. For HoSt, a company with deep roots in Twente, the partnership with the university reflects a broader ambition: showing that the region’s engineering knowledge can help solve some of the biggest challenges in the energy transition, one manure pile at a time.

Join Martin Bos in the Universitent at Zwarte Cross

Curious how manure ends up as green gas, or how CO2 finds its way into a glass of beer? Join Martin Bos in the Universitent at Zwarte Cross on Friday 17 July, from 16:00 to 16:30. Zwarte Cross is the biggest festival in the Netherlands with 38 stages that bring together music, theatre, stunts, and motocross, and this year, a bit of circular chemistry too.