In Denmark, biogas technology provider Sauter Danmark and climate enterprise Stiesdal SkyClean have formed a joint venture named Agri Energy to create local, cooperative energy companies in Danish agriculture.
The two companies have combined their novel technologies into a comprehensive concept where straw and other residues are converted into biogas.
The remaining biofibre is transformed through pyrolysis into biochar and pyrolysis gas, which can be further condensed into bio-oil.
The new company will focus on establishing energy parks, each capable of processing approximately 250,000 tonnes of dry matter content of residual biomass annually.
Boost CO2 reduction and circular economy
By integrating the innovative technologies of both companies in large-scale facilities, Agri Energy aims to achieve a climate benefit of over 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq) per year for each energy park, approximately 1 percent of Denmark’s total CO2 emissions compensated.
The overarching goal of Agri Energy is to grant agriculture ownership of the entire value chain, from biomass to bioenergy, with a long-term vision of establishing a significant cooperative focused on biogenic energy production in Denmark.
Crucial to the business concept is the involvement of farmers in both ownership and ongoing payments for biomass.
Farmers produce and own the essential raw material for biogenic energy production, biomass. We believe that farmers will not only deliver it at the gate and barn door but will follow it to the sale of energy and other climate values. The time is right for a model where farmers organize themselves into owner-supplier groups and invest in ownership of energy production based on their raw materials. Our mission is to provide the technical, organizational, and financial platform that makes it possible, said Poul Erik Jørgensen, Chairman of Agri Energy and former agricultural director at Nykredit.
Agri Energy Vrå – Biogenic Energy Park blueprint
Sauter Danmark’s biogas technology has been extensively used at the Agri Energy Vrå biogas plant. The technology enables the substantial use of straw and bedding material in the facility.
In conjunction with the Vrå biogas plant, Stiesdal SkyClean has built a 20 MW pyrolysis plant utilizing residual fibre from the biogas facility.
We are excited to expand our collaboration in Vrå. It is a natural progression for our SkyClean technology to benefit agriculture through pyrolysis. In the future, it may also be relevant to include one of Stiesdal’s other technologies in the collaboration, namely our hydrogen electrolysis technology, which can be used for the production of Power-to-X fuels, said Peder Nickelsen, CEO of Stiesdal SkyClean.
This combination of predominantly plant-based energy production and CO2 storage with biochar serves as a model for the biogenic energy parks that Agri Energy aims to expand throughout the country.
I sense great interest from farmers in becoming co-owners of energy production based on their raw materials, and it is on this basis that we are now creating a new Danish cooperative for biogenic energy production, commented Daniel Overgaard Pedersen, majority shareholder in Sauter Danmark and owner of the Vrå biogas plant.
