Autumn 2023 EN

ENGLISH ISSUE
BIOGAS JOURNAL | AUTUMN_2023
Goran Knežević and Lidija Carević from the Biogas Association Serbia in the Usce Tower, where the association has its headquarters.
Antje Kramer (right photo) is from the German Biogas Association on a visit to the Serbian Biogas Association in Novi Beograd, a district
of Belgrade. There is a partnership between the associations, supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and
Development (BMZ) and the climate partnership between Germany and Serbia, which is part of the Balkan country’s preparations for EU
accession.
not regulated or not implemented. Like a statutory regulation
for the feed-in of biomethane. Or liberalization
of the electricity sector. The state-owned monopolist
Elektroprivredav Sribije (EPS) still has a market share
of 97 percent, even though there are more than 70
other providers.
Unused Waste Material Potential
Serbia achieved its share of 26 percent of renewable
energies in 2021, mainly with hydropower. What part
will biogas play in the next phase, 32 percent by 2030?
There is definitely potential. Manure from numerous
livestock farms is still untapped, although most of the
farms are small-scale. Equally suitable are the wastewater
and other processing residues from sugar and
other food industries, as well as the annual organic
fraction of 2.1 million tons from municipal solid waste.
However, silage from corn or other energy crops as a
substrate is facing a crisis, as demonstrated by the case
of Agro Plus Energy.
Global Seed in Čurug reacted to that some time ago.
The way to the dairy farm leads past farmland with
pitch-black soil, vast orchards and settlement villages
dating back to the Habsburg era, with Orthodox and
Catholic churches, wide avenues, lush green areas, and
partly neoclassical house facades. Serbs, Hungarians,
Slovaks, Croatians, Romanians and many other ethnic
groups live in the Voijvodina region.
Using the Envitec plant, Global Seed was one of the
first operators of a biogas facility in Serbia a decade
ago. As the self-proclaimed largest milk farm in Europe
certified with the EU Organic Seal, their primary aim
was to address a waste disposal issue and produce organic
fertilizer for their own fields.
Residual Materials instead of Corn Silage
Five years later, the plant was expanded to a total of
1.27 megawatts. The contents of the large silage warehouse,
however, has been reserved exclusively for the
2,000 cows for several years. Next to the warehouse,
a tank truck from Esotron from Novi Sad, which disposes
of, treats and sells food waste, stops to fill the
tank of the biogas plant with liquid sludge from organic
waste. The mixture of food waste and residual materials
from sunflower and soybean production is mixed with
30 percent cow manure and pumped into the digester.
“That way, we save about 30 percent of the cost of silage
and don’t have to worry about organizing any logistics,”
says the plant manager Konstadin Radonovic,
standing under his umbrella in the courtyard.
So, he can make his plans for the future without having
to worry. Global Seed aspires to be among the pioneering
plants engaging in biomethane processing, positioned
to commence operations as the feed-in tariff for
the initial plant phase concludes in 2024. In addition,
the company would like to provide heat to the nearby
village of Čurug, including the school and other public
buildings. “Unfortunately, there are no regulations from
the government regarding this yet,” says Radonovic.
But several problems are caused by using organic waste
as a substrate. Because each tank load has a different
composition, the plant has to be carefully supervised
and controlled. “The bacteria inside react immediately
to the changing substrate. I neither want to let them
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