EnviTec Biogas Announces Commissioning of first EnviThan Plant in Slovakia

(EnviTec Biogas) EnviThan gas upgrading plant is the result of sustained service work -- The result of ongoing, neighborly service efforts speaks for itself: After 18 years in the Eastern European market, the team at the Czech Service subsidiary of EnviTec Biogas AG is proud to announce the completion of the first gas upgrading plant in Slovakia. “Our EnviThan plant in Bierovce, Slovakia, has just successfully injected biomethane into the local gas grid,” reports Stefan Laumann, Head of Gas Upgrading at EnviTec Biogas.

The EnviThan gas upgrading plant, which has a capacity of 449 Nm3/h of biomethane, was installed together with a raw gas treatment system at an existing biogas plant. The input material in Bierovce consists of 70% food waste and organic industrial waste, poultry manure, and corn and grass silage. The project is owned by ENERGE s.r.o. “With this plant, our customer aims to expand its portfolio of flexible electricity supplies for local grid operators,” says Miroslav Kováčik, head of the Czech EnviTec subsidiary.

EnviTec was able to convince ENERGE s.r.o. not only with its long-standing technical expertise in the EnviThan membrane technology for gas upgrading, developed in collaboration with Evonik Industries, but also – and most importantly – with its logistical efficiency. The Czech subsidiary EnviTec Service s.r.o. is conveniently located in Velké Meziříčí, Czech Republic, directly on the D1 motorway between Prague and Brno. This will enable quick delivery of spare parts and also save money by maintenance done by our experienced Czech-Slovak EnviTec Service team.

The team on site value their collaboration with Slovakian experts: “By awarding the contract for the construction of the feed-in station and booster compressor to a regional provider, our customer is supporting the regional economy and ensuring time-optimized processes, not only in communication and construction work, but also in later maintenance,” says Miroslav Kováčik. “We are proud to achieve methane qualities of 98% with our EnviThan technology,” says
Laumann. The high methane content of the biomethane makes it largely unnecessary to add fossil propane, despite the high calorific value required in the gas grid.

EnviTec Biogas is implementing a second gas upgrading project in Ožďany. The recently signed project involves the addition of a 417 Nm3/h EnviThan plant. “The biogas plant, which has been in operation for 14 years, is fueled by cow and poultry manure,” Laumann adds. However, the customer, the agricultural company CITA VIA s.r.o., plans to gradually switch to using waste materials as input in the future. The EnviThan gas upgrading plant is already being manufactured in Saerbeck. With this plant, the customer intends to process 750 Nm3/h of biogas into biomethane and eventually expand to a maximum production of 1,300 Nm3/h of biogas.

Slovakia is aiming to promote the green energy transformation. According to the target market analysis of the Energy Export Initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), the country plans to invest heavily in the expansion of renewable energies over the coming years. According to the analysis, the production of biomethane will play a key role here. A total of €103 million in funding from the EU Recovery Fund is available for the construction of new renewable energy plants. “These expansion plans open up promising market prospects for us – something we can already see from the inquiries we are receiving from other potential customers,” adds Maurice Markerink, Managing Director of EnviTec Anlagenbau. In 2021, Slovakia’s 96 agricultural biogas plants fed 470 GWh of electricity into the grid, with total feed-in compensation amounting to €42.6 million. The analysis shows that a total of 34 biogas plants in Slovakia have the potential to produce biomethane.

EnviTec Biogas AG covers the entire value chain for the production of biogas, including the planning and construction of biogas plants and biogas upgrading plants as well as their commissioning. The company takes charge of biological and technical services on demand and also offers operational management services. EnviTec operates 87 own plants, making it one of the largest biogas producers in Germany at present. EnviTec’s business activities also include the production and marketing of climate-neutral fuels (bio-LNG) for the transport sector as well as food-grade liquid carbon dioxide (LCO2) and the planning and operation of wind and solar projects. With a presence in 18 countries worldwide, EnviTec Biogas AG is represented by its own companies, sales offices, strategic partners and joint ventures. In 2024, the EnviTec Group generated revenue of EUR 337.7 million and EBT of EUR 44.0 million. The Group currently employs some 690 people. EnviTec Biogas AG has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since July 2007. READ MORE