BNDES supports production of biofuel and electricity from industrial waste in the interior of São Paulo

By BNDES

This is a machine translation of the press release originally published in Portuguese 

The National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) will finance the implementation of a CRI GEO Biogás plant for the production of biogas and electricity from biodegradable waste. The plant is being built in the municipality of Elias Fausto, on the outskirts of the industrial region of Campinas, in the State of São Paulo.

The Bank's support to the company will amount to R$44 million, or approximately 80% of the total investment amount, of R$56.2 million. Resources will be transferred by the National Fund on Climate Change (FNMC), within the scope of the Climate Fund Program, complemented with BNDES' own funding ,

With two digesters, a gasometer and motor generators, the plant will have an installed capacity of 2.15 MW for electricity generation and the capacity to produce 4.5 million m³ of biomethane (purified biogas) annually, in addition to more than 9 thousand tons per year. of biofertilizers. The plant is expected to start operating in March 2024.

The project contributes to the mitigation of climate change, promoting the use of biofuels to replace diesel and natural gas of fossil origin. It is estimated that avoided CO2 emissions over the project's 20-year lifespan reach 1.76 million tons, which is equivalent to the emissions generated by 44,000 vehicles circulating in the same period.

The project will take advantage of biodegradable waste from large industries located in the vicinity of the plant. Thus, in addition to ensuring the proper disposal of this material, the project will also promote the capture of methane (a greenhouse gas 34 times more harmful in the atmosphere than CO2) that would be emitted by the decomposition of organic waste.

Part of the electricity generated will be consumed by CRI GEO Biogás itself and the surplus will be injected into the distribution network of the local energy concessionaire. The biomethane produced will be able to replace the diesel consumed in the CRI GEO Biogás fleet, in addition to being marketed to industries that currently consume fossil fuels such as natural gas, LPG and diesel. The biofertilizer, a 100% organic by-product generated in the production process, will be used as fertilizer in the region's agricultural areas.

CRI GEO Biogás emerged from a partnership between Grupo Crivellaro, active in the field of recycling and correct disposal of industrial waste, and GEO Energética, recently renamed to Geo Biogás & Tech, a company that has 10 years of experience building and operating biogas plants. based in Londrina (PR), which through its R&D sector developed a biotechnological process for the production of biogas from the reuse of waste.