Biogas for the Cattle Pastures of Gran Chaco - ARCHEA Constructs First Plant in Argentina

After successful projects in southern Brazil, ARCHEA continues to expand in the Latin American region. The medium-sized company from Hessisch-Oldendorf will be constructing a biogas plant for the agricultural cooperative "Sociedad Rural de Jesus Maria." The client and future operator is a union of predominantly small farmers established in 1946 in a renowned agricultural region approximately 50 km north of the metropolitan city of Cordoba, in the heart of Argentina.

The area around Jesús Maria is known for its wine and salami specialties. Historically, the town developed from an estate founded by Spanish settlers, which produced the famous Lagrimilla, the first wine from America to be tasted by the royal family in Madrid. The buildings are now part of UNESCO's World Heritage. After being connected to the railway network in 1873, Jesús Maria gradually transformed into a small town, which, together with Colonia Caroya and Sinsacate, now has 40,000 inhabitants in the agglomeration. Located in the famous Gran Chaco, the region has a subtropical climate with humid, warm summers and mild, dry winters. The economy is heavily influenced by agriculture, livestock farming, and food production.

The freely grazing cattle herds in this environment provide farmers with high-quality meat products but also pose environmental problems due to the organic waste they produce. ARCHEA addresses this issue by providing a waste disposal solution based on closed production cycles, which also serves as a decentralized energy supply for the farms of the "Sociedad Rural de Jesus Maria." The large amounts of cattle manure and slaughter waste are optimally digested by ARCHEA's innovative system, resulting in high gas yields that can be converted into electricity via a CHP unit.

Oliver Nacke, founder and CEO of ARCHEA since 1998, emphasized the excellent cooperation with Luiz Picat, the director of the cooperative, and his team. The high level of education is due to the continuous efforts of the "Sociedad Rural de Jesus Maria" to train and educate its employees and members.

With the new project in Argentina, ARCHEA once again emphasizes the company's sustainability-oriented approach: on one hand, solving decentralized environmental and waste disposal problems while creating decentralized energy supply options to realize regenerative power plants without the need for state subsidies, with output directly benefiting local businesses and people. On the other hand, directly involving local partners and generating a large part of the value added locally.

The groundbreaking ceremony and official presentation of the project took place at the Expo Rural 2016 at the beginning of September. Oliver Nacke is confident that the plant can be put into operation as planned next year, relying on his experienced team of employees who have already demonstrated their skills and commitment under challenging conditions, as seen most recently in India.