Schmack Biogas S.r.l., a subsidiary of Japanese-Swiss cleantech company Hitachi Zosen Inova AG (HZI), has announced that it has been selected by Spanish waste management specialist AGR Biogás (AGR) to deliver its first anaerobic digestion system at La Calahorra.
Following the successful completion of its first anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in Campillos near Málaga in Spain, the HZI-owned biogas specialist has been selected by AGR Biogás to deliver a new plant.
Once built, the new La Calahorra plant will provide a long-term biogas solution for hard-to-treat olive pomace and other agricultural waste. La Calahorra is expected to be the first in a series of biogas projects AGR Biogás is developing across the country.
First-of-its-kind
In the future, this technology will sustainably treat residual waste from the Spanish olive oil sector and other agricultural waste that have previously been landfilled.
Importantly, this project is also the first new contract for Schmack Biogas since HZI acquired a majority shareholding in the renewable gas specialist.
The new La Calahorra biogas plant will also be the first facility of its type built in Spain that will utilize Schmack Biogas’s Euco Titan configuration of AD technology.
Construction is expected to start on October 1, 2024, and will take approximately 21 months before commercial operations begin.
HZI and Schmack Biogas teams are delighted to be selected by AGR to build the first in a series of new AD projects across Spain. The La Calahorra facility will be located in the heart of Andalusia’s agricultural centre, a region famous for its olives and olive oil products. For the first time, this new plant will redirect agricultural waste away from being landfilled. Instead, the new plant will produce valuable biogas. This is such an important project for HZI and Schmack Biogas, AGR Biogás, and the Spanish agricultural sector more broadly. This is the first AD project of its type and will unlock the development of further biogas and biomethane facilities across Spain in the years to come, said Daniel Dreier, EVP of Waste to X and Renewable Gas Plants at HZI.
Biowastes from agriculture
By utilizing this proven AD technology, the new semi-dry and wet digesters will soon be treating around 104,000 tonnes of olive oil pomace annually.
The main biogenic wastes will be organic byproducts remaining from olive processing, chicken manure, plus slurries and whey, which will be sourced from Spain’s large agricultural sector.
The new plant will reliably produce up to 10 million Nm³ of biogas annually, which the client will later upgrade to biomethane aka renewable natural gas (RNG).
This will support the decarbonization of Spain’s agricultural sector, ensuring that vital biogenic waste is properly utilized and kick-starting a series of new AD development projects AGR Biogás plans to deliver across the country in the coming years.
The start of the construction of La Calahorra marks the tangible launch of our strategic plan, which includes a portfolio of more than 30 projects in Spain and Portugal with the main focus on Andalusia, said David Pinero, General Director of AGR Biogás.
