Commencement of electricity and heat feed-in

Fermentation plant for percolate connected to Erfurt network

On December 2nd, the ceremonial commissioning of a GICON Process biogas plant took place at the mechanical-biological processing plant (German: MBA) on the grounds of the Erfurt-Ost Waste Treatment Plant.  The percolate fermentation plant, the first of its kind in the world to date, produces biogas from percolate, which is generated on site at the existing MBA.  Thus, a new renewable energy source has been developed.  

In the presence of numerous visitors, the start button for the initial feed-in was symbolically pressed by the Mayor of Erfurt, Andreas Bausewein, the CEO of Erfurt Public Utilities, Peter Zaiß, the owner’s CEO, Marco Schmidt, and the CEO of the erection firm, Dr. Hagen Hilse from GICON Bioenergie.  Subsequently, the mayor also started the combined heat and power generator (CHP), which was made visible for all the visitors. 

With this plant, Erfurt Public Utilities has provided a contribution to the supply of environmentally-friendly, resource-efficient energy.  Simultaneously, this project displays the trust of a well-known energy producer in the innovation and capability of GICON as a representative of German middle-sized economic enterprise.   

GICON Bioenergie was general contractor for the plant.  Included in the scope of services was a methane reactor with integrated gas storage, liquid digestate storage, technical container including associated piping, desulphurization equipment, CHP with an electrical output of 250kW, flare, transformer, the required electrical, measurement, monitoring and control instrumentation, as well as grounding and lightning protection equipment.    

On May 26th, 2010, the ceremonial groundbreaking took place.  Just six months later, the plant is continuously feeding electricity and heat to the Erfurt Public Utilities network.  Electricity for approx. 1,000 homes and heat for 200 homes will be provided to the grid upon full operation of the new plant.  

GICON Process plants (dry-wet fermentation with split hydrolysis) are especially suited for structure-rich feedstocks, which cannot be introduced into conventional biogas plants due to their high solid component and associated impurities.  There currently exists, particularly in the area of waste management, a large untapped potential for energetic utilization of organic biomass, which can now be opened both nationally and internationally with this technology.

An additional process-specific advantage offered by the GICON Process is the possibility for control of the biogas production, whereby in the future, this plant can be utilized in the interests of the power industry as a segment of the balancing-energy supply.