Vitagro Group will raise EUR110 million in additional investments to develop its biomethane plant in Khmelnytsky region and increase its capacity by 5 million cubic meters by the time biomethane production starts, said Serhiy Savchuk, Vitagro Group’s Director of Development and Investments, at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin on Wednesday.
“We understand that by 2030, 35 million cubic meters of biomethane will be consumed in the EU. That is why we have invested EUR6 million in our first biomethane plant in Ukraine. Yesterday I spoke with our customers in Europe who sell our product to the EU. I sent them a memorandum for additional investments in our biomethane plant,” he said.
According to Savchuk, it is an investment of EUR110 million, which will allow Vitagro to increase biomethane production by 5 million cubic meters per year.
Vitagro’s Director of Development and Investment also said that the group of companies has launched five projects at its own expense since the beginning of the full-scale war. Fertilizer production projects and a corn pellet ethanol plant have now been fully completed.
The VITAGRO group of companies was founded in 1999. In 2021, it employed 5 thousand people, its revenue amounted to $211.3 million, and EBITDA was $101 million.
The group’s land bank is 85 thousand hectares. The group also owns a seed and crop protection plant, as well as sunflower oil production facilities and one of the five largest orchards in Ukraine. VITAGRO also owns 5,000 heads of cattle and 110,000 heads of pigs, elevator capacity of 400,000 tons, as well as three brick factories and nine asphalt plants, and four solar power plants with a total capacity of 16 MW.
VITAGRO’s first pilot biomethane project was presented in June 2023 in Dobrohorscha village in Khmelnytskyi district of Khmelnytskyi region, where a biomethane plant with a capacity of 2.9 million cubic meters per year was built on the basis of a farm and a biogas plant, with investments in the project estimated at EUR 7.6 million. Manure, silage, and straw from the group’s pig and cattle farms will be used for methane production.
VITAGRO also planned to launch two more such plants: “Zorya in Rivne region for 3 million cubic meters and 52 thousand tons of fertilizers with an investment of EUR 7 million and in the former Volochysk district (now Khmelnytsky district) for 2.5 million cubic meters and 100 thousand tons of fertilizers with an investment of EUR 6.8 million.
According to the state register, the main beneficiary of VITAGRO is MP Serhiy Labaziuk, and the CEO is Petro Labaziuk.
JSC Chernigovgaz, which operates under the brand name of the Regional Gas Company, has issued technical conditions for connecting the first Ukrainian biomethane plant of Hals Agro LLC in the Chernihiv region, according to a press release from RGC.
“The regional gas company ordered the production of gas equipment for the plant at one of the RGC Production plants. The capacity of the first stage of construction, which will be completed by the end of this year, will be 330 cubic meters of biomethane per hour,” the document says.
According to RGC, the first phase of construction of gas networks involves the construction of a gas pipeline 800 m long, which will allow Hals Agro to transfer 330 cubic meters to gas distribution networks (GDS). m of biomethane per hour in winter. It is expected that the connection will take place before the end of 2022.
“This is the first project to connect a biomethane plant in Ukraine. We are ready to scale this experience in all regions where RGC operates. Our company has technical expertise and has access to technologies from leading gas equipment manufacturers, as well as the experience of European GDS operators who have been working with biomethane for many years “, – said Igor Gotsyk, head of decarbonization at RGC, quoted in the press release.
As explained in the company, in the future Hals Agro plans to increase the production of biomethane to 1100 cubic meters. m/h, and the specialists of RGC and Chernihivgaz will ring the coverage area of two adjacent gas distribution stations, building about 8 more km of the gas pipeline.
“Then the biomethane plant will have access to a larger number of consumers and will transfer biomethane to the network through two gas distribution stations at once. The work is planned to be completed by the beginning of the 2023/24 heating season,” the RGC informed.
The design capacity of the installed equipment for biogas purification into biomethane is about 3 million cubic meters. m per year, which is enough to provide local gas to 1,500 private households adjacent to the plant.
According to RGC, the gas control equipment and the gas metering unit required to connect to the grid are already being manufactured at one of the modern RGC Production plants. In this case, components and components from leading manufacturers Pietro Fiorentini and Emerson will be used, which have confirmed the quality of their equipment in working with biomethane in Europe and the world.
As reported, GDS operators operating under the RGC brand have simplified the connection of biomethane plants to gas distribution networks as much as possible and offer this service for 1 hryvnia. Biomethane producers must finance the construction of external and internal gas networks and equipment.
Gas distribution networks in Ukraine are the most suitable and promising for the connection of biomethane plants. They are the most branched across the country and have comparable system operation pressure with biomethane producers, which does not require the installation of additional equipment.
As of the beginning of June 2022, GTS Operator of Ukraine LLC (OGTSU) was approached by 26 companies planning to produce a total of 206 million cubic meters. m of biomethane per year.
According to experts of the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine, the production of biomethane in the country can reach 7.8 billion cubic meters. m per year.
JSC Chernihivgaz, which operates under the brand name of the Regional Gas Company, has issued technical conditions for the connection of the first biomethane plant in Ukraine to the Hals Agro LLC in the Chernihiv region, according to the press release of the RGK.
“The regional gas company ordered the production of gas equipment for the plant at one of the RGC Production plants. The capacity of the first stage of construction, which will be completed by the end of this year, will be 330 cubic meters of biomethane per hour,” the document states.
According to RGK, the first phase of construction of gas networks involves the construction of a gas pipeline 800 m long, which will allow Hals Agro to transfer 330 cubic meters to gas distribution networks (GDM). m of biomethane per hour in winter. It is assumed that the connection will take place by the end of 2022.
“This is the first project to connect a biomethane plant in Ukraine. We are ready to scale this experience in all regions where RGK is present. Our company has technical expertise and access to the technologies of leading manufacturers of gas equipment, as well as the experience of European gas-fired power plant operators who have been working with biomethane for many years “, said Ihor Gotsyk, head of the decarbonization department of RGK, whose words were quoted in the press release.
As the company explained, in the future “Hals Agro” plans to increase the production of biomethane to 1.1 thousand cubic meters. m/h, and RGK and Chernihivgaz specialists will encircle the area of operation of two adjacent gas distribution stations, building another 8 km of gas pipeline.
“Then the biomethane plant will gain access to a larger number of consumers and will transfer biomethane to the network immediately through two timing systems. The work is planned to be completed by the beginning of the heating season of 2023/24,” – informed the RGC.
The design capacity of the installed equipment for cleaning biogas into biomethane is about 3 million cubic meters. m per year, which is enough for the local gas supply of 1,500 private households adjacent to the plant.
According to RGC, the gas regulation equipment and gas metering unit required for connection to the network are already manufactured at one of RGC Production’s modern plants. Nodes and components from leading manufacturers Pietro Fiorentini and Emerson, which have confirmed the quality of their equipment in working with biomethane in Europe and the world, will also be used.
As reported, timing operators operating under the RGK brand have simplified the connection of biomethane plants to gas distribution networks as much as possible and offer this service for UAH 1. Biomethane producers must finance the construction of external and internal gas networks and equipment.
Gas distribution networks in Ukraine are the most acceptable and promising for connecting biomethane plants. They are the most widespread in the territory of the country and have comparable system pressure with biomethane producers, which does not require the installation of additional equipment.
As of the beginning of June 2022, 26 companies that plan to produce a total of 206 million cubic meters have applied to “Operator GTS of Ukraine” LLC (OGTS). m of biomethane per year.
According to the estimates of experts of the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine, the volume of biomethane production in the country may reach 7.8 billion cubic meters. m per year.
BIOMETHANE PLANT, Chernihivgaz, connecting, technical conditions
The Regional Gas Company (RGC) plans to connect the first biomethane plant to gas distribution networks in the middle of next year, after the heating season, Director of RGC Strategic Planning Department Stanislav Kazda said in a commentary to the Green Deal portal on the sidelines of the Ukrainian Gas Forum.
“We want to be ready to connect the plant by the middle of next year. We do not yet know which biomethane plant to choose out of the ten considered. There are a lot of technical issues and financial constraints, but I am sure that at least one of them we can connect. Technically, this is possible after the end of the heating season,” Kazda said.
As reported, in May, the Regional Gas Company (RGC) and the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine (BAU) signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation to synchronize the processes of redesigning gas distribution infrastructure and biomethane production. In August, gas distribution network operators operating under the RGC brand in three regions received proposals and technical parameters from BAU for connecting biomethane plants to gas distribution networks as part of a pilot project.
