Agraferm: The future of biogas lies in the diversity of the raw materials
Agraferm wins bid for new plant project in Germany
With its new contract, Agraferm Technologies AG proves that there is still potential for biogas plants in the German market. To exploit this potential, however, plant concepts must be particularly well-thought-out and future-compliant. An especially important detail is flexibility concerning input materials. The emerging trend is moving away from energy crops with movement towards more input of combined raw materials. This is the approach that has been adopted by the new Agraferm plant project in Beerfelde.
Halfway between Berlin and Frankfurt (Oder), the community of Beerfelde/Goelsdorf will be the site of a new biomethane plant. The turnkey construction of the 700 Nm3/h large-scale facility has been entrusted to the Southern German plant manufacturer Agraferm. The contractor is NEVAG, which already operates an Agraferm plant in Petershagen.
The diverse assortment of input materials planned – from maize silage, whole crop silage, szarvasi grass, grass silage to cattle dung, cattle slurry, horse dung and dried chicken dung – means fulfilling certain technical requirements which are currently gaining importance, not only on the German market. The project developer, RegPower GmbH, has been working on location and planning for over two years as both new political guidelines as well as the use of more agricultural waste have arisen. They have now guided the project to construction readiness. Cornelius Herb, CEO of the contractor RegPower, comments: “In future, biogas plants must be as flexible as possible allowing for diverse substrates and various modes of operation. Plant manufacturers with the right technology will have better chances on the market.”
“More and more, we see that flexibility in possible substrate combinations is a deciding factor in proposals. Operators know that this is their best chance of keeping costs under control in a changing market”, is how Eike Liekweg from the Agraferm Technologies AG board of directors explains the flux in demand. “Because of our constant advancements in process and mixing technology and the resulting high-load digesters, we are in an excellent position to meet these requirements.”
