SustainPower delivers locally manufactured biogas power generator to ibert

The containerised combined heat and power unit (CHP) produces electricity and heat in a waste-to-energy process which, by recovering about 90% of the energy in the gaseous fuel, is very efficient. Biogas is a methane-rich gas which is produced during the breakdown of organic matter, e.g. agricultural waste, plant material, food waste etc, in an anaerobic digestion process, and is therefore considered a renewable energy source.

Launched in May 2017 at the African Utility Week in Cape Town, SustainPower, which specialises in containerised sustainable power generation equipment, delivered its first 220kW CHP to ibert’s abattoir waste-to-biogas generation plant near Pretoria. The CHP, designed and manufactured in Cape Town, converts biogas into electrical power and thermal energy which is consumed by the abattoir.

Finding cost-effective technical solutions

“For our previous biogas plants, we imported our generator sets directly from Germany because we could not find the right cost-effective technical solution in South Africa. Although the SustainPower team are the new players in the market, we trusted the team’s expertise and their innovative concept, and we have been very impressed with the end result,” says Horst Unterlechner, technical director, ibert biogas.

“Whilst the biogas and waste-to-energy industry in Africa is still in its infancy, it has enormous potential as energy shortages and ineffective waste management are amongst the largest challenges in Africa,” says Tobias Hobbach, managing director of SustainPower. “