The project proposes the creation of a value chain for woody residual biomass (Moringa prunings) at the Research Center for Protein Plants and Bionatural Products (CIPB) in Cuba, ranging from field collection to its thermal use in various processes.

To achieve this goal, a plant for chipping, drying, grinding, and pelletizing the residual biomass will be installed first. The pellets produced will be used in two facilities, replacing the electricity and fossil fuel (diesel) currently in use. On the one hand, they will be used in Moringa leaf dryers (a CIPB product), which will be modified to become mixed solar-biomass dryers, and on the other, in a milk pasteurization process. In parallel, other activities will be carried out, including the construction of an experimental combustion plant at Cubaenergia (a Research Center belonging to the Cuban Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment) to serve as a test bench; the training of specialized personnel through courses, seminars, and workshops; an analysis of the future replicability of the project’s innovative solution; and the dissemination of the project. All these activities are of great importance to the project, as the aim is for the implemented value chain to be a unique facility serving as a benchmark for similar ones, which requires both its proper functioning and the dissemination of results. The project will be executed in Cuba over a period of 18 months.