Vitagro Group of Companies intends to reach the planned capacity of biomethane plant of 3 million cubic meters of biomethane per year in 2025 and in case of successful export is ready to build two more plants to increase production and export, the company’s development and investment director Sergiy Savchuk told Forbes Ukraina.
“We have several projects in the pipeline. Construction of one plant in Khmelnitsky region and another in Rivne region. However, we have not started construction yet, we have to evaluate the results of exports. If we are satisfied, we will quickly build new projects. The total capacity of the two new plants is about 8 million cubic meters of biomethane per year,” he said.
According to his information, the group of companies is considering the option of attracting foreign investors in capital.
He added that now 20 tons of cattle manure or 70-80 tons of slurry are used to produce 1000 cubic meters of biomethane at the plant in Khmelnitsky region.
Vitagro Group has its own cows and bulls – 5700 heads, pigs – 106 thousand heads, manure from which is the raw material for biomethane production. The plant has 20 employees, and 50 specialists were involved in the construction of the plant.
Savchuk suggested that EUR6 mln invested in the construction of the plant in Khmelnitsky region will pay off in five years, but everything will depend on the gas price. If the market continues to grow, EUR6 mln will be recouped faster. Now the cost of biomethane in the company is more than EUR500 per 1000 cubic meters. At the same time, the EU natural gas price is around EUR600 per 1,000 cubic meters as of mid-February 2025.
“Due to the high gas prices in the EU, biomethane is a premium market. We have seen the prospects. Another reason is risk diversification. Our own generation allows us to ensure the group’s energy independence, given the Russian Federation’s energy strikes,” emphasized the company’s development and investment director.
Preparing for the first export delivery of biomethane took the company’s team 5 months of work. Vitagro noted that the whole process of exporting biomethane was a challenge for them: from connecting to the grid, which took several months, injecting the biomethane, quality control to customs clearance and delivery to the border.
