Cargill Seeks To Build 3 Biogas Plants In Europe

Cargill Inc.’s push into renewable energy will include the construction of as many as three European plants to produce green gas from farming waste, as reported by Tarso Veloso and Gerson Freitas for Bloomberg.

Cargill’s access to feedstock, including from its meat-processing facilities, gives an opportunity for the US company to slash emissions from its operations as well as selling the fuel into Europe’s market. I Photo: Asher Heimermann Wikimedia Commons

The world’s largest agricultural trader is still discussing locations for the plants with its Netherlands-based partner SFP Group, according to Alexis Cazin, president of Cargill Europe’s bioenergy, grains, and oilseeds business. Cargill and SFP, a biogas producer, entered into a joint venture in early November.

The European Commission aims to increase biomethane production tenfold to reach 35 billion cubic meters by 2030 as part of efforts to cut carbon dioxide emissions and reduce the bloc’s dependence on imported fossil fuels.

Processed biogas is mostly made of organic material such as chicken and pig waste, and it can be used to power everything from vehicles to factories.

It’s considered a green fuel because burning it to generate electricity has a lower overall impact on warming the planet than allowing methane from decomposing waste to vent into the atmosphere.

Cargill’s access to feedstock, including from its meat-processing facilities, gives an opportunity for the US company to slash emissions from its operations as well as selling the fuel into Europe’s market.

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