Kanadevia Inova and Schmack Biogas to Deliver New Biogas Technology Solution for the Spanish Market
The Hitachi-Zosen-Inova-owned biogas specialist Schmack Biogas S.r.l. has been selected by AGR Biogás to deliver a new plant after successful completion of its first anaerobic digestion plant in Campillos near Málaga in Spain. 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 anaerobic digestion projects that AGR is developing across the country.
Campillos, Spain. Schmack Biogas, owned by Kanadevia Inova (HZI), has been selected by waste management specialist AGR Biogás (AGR) to deliver its first anaerobic digestion system at La Calahorra, Spain. 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 – a process widely regarded as the least sustainable form of waste management.
Importantly, this project is also the first new contract for Schmack Biogas since Kanadevia Inova acquired a majority shareholding in the renewable gas specialist in March this year. The new La Calahorra biogas plant will also be the first facility of its type built in Spain that will utilise Schmack Biogas’s Euco Titan configuration of anaerobic digestion (AD) technology. Construction is expected to start on 1 October 2024 and will take approximately 21 months before commercial operations begin. By utilising 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 10,000,000 Nm³ of biogas each year, which the client will later upgrade to biomethane. This will support the decarbonisation of Spain’s agricultural sector, ensuring that vital biogenic waste is properly utilised and kick-starting a series of new AD development projects that AGR is planning to deliver across the country in the coming years.
“Kanadevia Inova 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 wastes away from being landfilled. Instead the new plant will produce valuable biogas,” said Daniel Dreier, Kanadevia Inova’s Executive Vice President Waste to X & Renewable Gas Plants. “This is such an important project for Kanadevia Inova and Schmack Biogas, AGR 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.”
“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 Biogas.