Biogas to be a major player in industry

FLI Energy has selected Sheffield-based Chesterfield Biogas to supply an upgrader to process biogas produced from digesting energy crops such as maize.

The upgrader – which purifies the gas, so it can go into the national gas grid – is a big part of the project at Ellough, near Beccles, in Suffolk.

Demand for biogas – a form of renewable energy derived from organic waste – is expected to soar as the UK faces up to the challenges caused by climate change.

Biogas can replace firewood or fossil fuels, which are becoming more expensive as supply struggles to keep up with demand.

In late August, Chesterfield BioGas, which is a division of Sheffield-based Pressure Technologies, secured two orders to supply biogas upgraders and equipment, with a combined sales value of £4.6m.

Stephen McCulloch, the managing director of Chesterfield BioGas, said of the latest contract: “We have been working in partnership with FLI Energy for some months to develop this, our second new UK contract within a few weeks.

“We view all such projects as a partnership process because, while the upgraders that we offer are modular, ‘plug-and-go’ systems, all sites have their particular requirements and constraints. The support package has been an important factor in our clinching this contract.”

FLI Energy offers anaerobic digestion plant construction. It processes agricultural and commercial organic feedstocks to produce biogas, and generate renewable energy.