09/16/2026
๐ซ๐ท France โ Researchers working with a small rural cooperative have developed a low-cost device that converts leftover grape pomace from local winemaking into a household heating fuel briquette, giving small vineyard families an affordable alternative to purchased heating oil.
The device compresses grape skins, seeds, and stems left over after pressing into dense fuel briquettes that burn cleanly for home heating, processed using equipment simple enough for the cooperative to operate themselves each harvest season. Cooperative families use the briquettes to supplement or replace purchased heating oil.
Small vineyard families had faced rising heating oil costs while their own grape pomace waste was simply discarded or composted with no fuel value captured. Cooperative leaders describe the briquette process as turning that seasonal waste into genuine household savings.
Families using the briquettes report meaningful reduction in heating oil expenses. With the process proving successful, neighboring wine cooperatives are adopting the same equipment.
Source: Camille Rousseau Girard, 2026