German manufacturer WELTEC BIOPOWER is currently building a biomethane plant for the Irish company Evergreen Agricultural Enterprises Limited. The plant at the company’s headquarters in Monasterevin, County Kildare, will go into operation in mid-2026 after a total construction period of 11 months. The location offers the operator logistical advantages, among other things: “On the one hand, it is well connected to the M7 motorway. In addition, the national gas network for direct biomethane feed-in is in the immediate vicinity,” emphasises Patrick Meade, Managing Director of Evergreen.
The plant at the company’s headquarters in Monasterevin, County Kildare, will go into operation in mid-2026 after a total construction period of 11 months.
The €50 million project comprises four digesters and one stainless-steel secondary digester, each with a volume of 4,900 cubic metres. These are mainly used to ferment production residues and by-products from the Irish beer and whiskey industry.
The €50 million project comprises four digesters and one stainless-steel secondary digester, each with a volume of 4,900 cubic metres. These are mainly used to ferment production residues and by-products from the Irish beer and whiskey industry. The materials are readily available and do not compete with feed production, as they are unsuitable for animal feed. Three additional tanks are used to store liquid substrates. “Despite its size, the plant, with an annual processing capacity of 165,000 tonnes, will be built in just six months of pure construction time. Construction is proceeding according to plan and mechanical completion is scheduled for the end of this year,” says Tobias Gerweler, Managing Director of WELTEC BIOPOWER. “The decision not to use grass silage was a conscious one, so that we would not be competing with the livestock industry,” Patrick Meade continues. A combined heat and power plant (CHP) installed on site generates around 1 megawatt of power for the operation of the plant and supplies heat for the digesters.
German manufacturer WELTEC BIOPOWER is currently building a biomethane plant for the Irish company Evergreen Agricultural Enterprises Limited.
Three rotating long-axis agitators and three submersible motor agitators in the tanks support the effective digestion of the substrate mix. The biogas is collected in the digesters with double-membrane roofs and processed into biomethane using membrane technology. It then enters the public gas grid 20 metres away via the feed-in point. Once commissioned, the plant will produce around 1,300 standard cubic metres of biomethane per hour – equivalent to around 110 GWh of energy per year. The annual output of 65,000 tonnes of digestate is stored in a covered concrete lagoon and delivered to farmers separately as liquid and solid fractions.
“The fact that German manufacturer WELTEC BIOPOWER was awarded the contract to build the largest plant in Ireland to date was due not only to the technical advantages mentioned above, but also to the short delivery times,” emphasises Managing Director Patrick Meade. This will also enable Ireland to achieve its ambitious expansion targets for biomethane production: the government aims to produce 5.7 terawatt-hours (TWh) of biomethane annually by 2030. To achieve this, existing biogas plants for biomethane processing would have to be expanded, and technically mature plants such as the one built by Evergreen in Kildare would have to be planned and constructed.
The WELTEC Group, based in Vechta, was founded in 2001. As a leading global supplier of biogas and biomethane plants, the German manufacturer provides comprehensive support for projects – from planning and construction to commissioning and individual service concepts.
Complete in-house development and the use of proven stainless steel technologies ensure goal-oriented planning, short installation times and the highest quality standards. WELTEC BIOPOWER has already implemented more than 400 energy plants in 27 countries worldwide – including Europe, the USA, South America, Asia and Australia.
Using a circular economy approach, unused organic raw materials are converted into sustainable energy. The customer structure has changed significantly since the company was founded. Initially, the focus was on constructing agricultural biogas plants that mainly processed manure and renewable raw materials such as maize. Currently, there is growing demand for industrial plants that utilise organic slaughterhouse and biowaste, residues from breweries and food production, and even sewage sludge.
The increasing focus on industrial, waste-based plants requires more complex technical processes: pathogens in the substrate must be sanitised, plastics removed via depackaging, and water recovered from the digestate through treatment. In its role as a full-service provider, WELTEC combines technological expertise with individual adaptation to the respective substrate input, thus positioning itself as a specialist for tailor-made biogas plant solutions.
In order to make the plant configuration process efficient and future-proof, the manufacturer is consistently driving forward the digitalisation and automation of its internal processes. This enables the company to accelerate the planning and implementation of tailor-made plant solutions while strengthening its competitiveness on the international market. With this strategic orientation, WELTEC is laying the foundation for continuing to realise innovative, sustainable and economical energy concepts for customers worldwide in the future.
