H2020 AMBIENCE Project: Disruptive ammonia capture and recovery system for biogas plants. IMPROVING the Circular Economy
- Type Project
- Status Filled
- Execution 2018 -2019
- Assigned Budget 50.000,00 €
- Scope Europeo
- Main source of financing H2020
- Project website INCOVER
The impacts of ammonia pollution have a total cost to the EU of between €70 and €320 billion per year, according to the First European Nitrogen Assessment, equivalent to €150–750 per capita, of which around 75% is related to health damage and air pollution. Furthermore, according to various studies, it has been estimated that a 50% reduction in NH3 emissions through the use of different technologies could result in a global benefit of $190 million per year in terms of reducing human disease (RTI, 2003).
AMBIENCE provides a revolutionary modular portable treatment plant, allowing farmers to not only capture but also revalue ammonia (NH3) extractions, reducing their environmental impact, increasing operating income (over 10%), and boosting the circular economy.
AMBIENCE is a low-cost, closed-loop physical system based on a novel and highly efficient permeable membrane technology that captures between 70% and 80% of ammonia emissions (liquid and gaseous) generated by animal waste and pig farms, and biogas plant digesters. The market impact is also indicated, with the benefits observed by target customer organizations, livestock farms, and biogas plants:
- Optimization of waste management costs.
- It is environmentally and economically feasible and sustainable.
- It can be easily deployed on farms as it is portable and compact.
- It allows for proper waste treatment, reducing emissions for legal compliance.
- It drastically reduces waste treatment costs (confirmed savings of €4/m³) as it can be treated internally and legally.
- It allows for the recovery of waste, producing ammonium sulfate as the final product, which could be sold to fertilizer manufacturers as a potential new source of income.
And specifically, for Biogas Plants these benefits:
- It provides a scalable solution that enables massive waste recovery.
- Integrating digestate processing into all biogas processes could improve overall efficiency in your energy production.
The feasibility study included the following activities:
- Business and financial plan
- Market feasibility analysis with special focus on validating the target market and its size
- Competition analysis
- Customer analysis and willingness to pay.
- DPI Analysis Market data research was conducted from documented sources, and various experts in biogas plants and livestock plants were interviewed.
- Various workshops were held with strategic partners from the industry and the commercial sector (a representative from the Biogas Association, representatives from agricultural associations, biogas plant engineering companies, and collaborating promoter companies, among others), as well as with scientific partners such as the University of Valladolid, including pilot testing on a real livestock farm.
As a result of the feasibility study, Inderen is determined to continue with the project. The main results derived from the project that support this determination are:
- Confirmed demand, need, and willingness to pay for the AMBIENCE solution in sectors such as livestock farming and biogas plants. Opportunity to enter the fertilizer market.
- A total addressable market of more than €10 billion per year, at the European level alone.
- Identifying technical challenges and defining a feasible technical roadmap for a scalable industrial solution.
- Updated operating plan with a market forecast of 220 million in revenue by 2025 with a market share of less than 3%.
- Estimating financial needs and developing a financial plan for both the technical roadmap and sales and marketing activities.
- Sizing of the area and strategy of the Inderen AMBIENCE area in terms of personnel by department.
- Identification of the value chain and potential partners to develop business plans as outlined in the report.
AMBIENCE is directly related to Directive 2001/81/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2001. The Directive explicitly requires EU Member States to take measures to reduce ammonia emissions from livestock farms. Furthermore, AMBIENCE also has a direct impact on EU legislation (Directive 91/676/EEC) on the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources.
Ammonia poses serious environmental problems: 1) Groundwater contamination, 2) Eutrophication and acidification of ecosystems, 4) Air quality compromise that harms human health, 5) Odors, 6) Land use and habitability. Ammonia at high levels is toxic to animals (including humans).
In this context, the project's objective is to conduct a feasibility study for AMBIENCE, a revolutionary solution that efficiently captures ammonia from specific waste products from farms and biogas plants, transforming it into ammonium sulfate, a valuable product for the manufacture of fertilizers and related products.
AMBIENCE delivers processed ammonia (NH3) converted into ammonium sulphate (NH4)2SO4, ready to be easily treated by fertilizer manufacturers, reducing farmers' operating costs through savings and new revenues achieved (+60%) by applying this innovative upgrading business model.
AMBIENCE will help reduce the amount of ammonia in the air (70-80%), originating from one of the largest sources of this pollutant: pig and poultry farms, as well as anaerobically co-digested liquid animal waste from biogas processes, which contain high amounts of ammonia.
Ninety-four percent of ammonia (NH3) emissions in Europe come from agriculture. Thus, the EU has created a Directive requiring farms to assume significant costs to properly manage the excretions generated daily. The market opportunity for biogas plants is to apply innovative local business models with an affordable, low-cost solution to biogas digestate, reducing environmental risks by transforming it into ammonium sulfate (NH4)2SO4.
This is an expensive product today, but it could be monetized through fertilizer manufacturers, thus generating a second business opportunity and driving a circular economy. AMBIENCE consists of a low-cost, closed-loop physical system based on a novel and highly efficient permeable membrane technology that captures between 70% and 80% of ammonia from emissions (liquid and gaseous) generated by animal waste and pig farms, and digesters from biogas plants.
AMBIENCE delivers processed ammonia (NH3) converted into ammonium sulfate (NH4)2SO4, ready for easy processing by fertilizer manufacturers, reducing farmers' operating costs through savings and new revenues (+60%) achieved by applying this innovative upcycling business model. If all agricultural and livestock sectors implemented the AMBIENCE solution, more than 65% of global ammonia emissions would be avoided.
The objectives of Phase 1 are to accelerate market adoption and international penetration of AMBIENCE and focus on preparing for international commercialization (including route to market, marketing strategy, growth strategy, etc.) by evolving the product from TRL6 to TRL9.
As a result of this project, AMBIENCE will grow significantly, creating 35 new skilled jobs within five years after project completion and generating revenues of €46.8 million and EBITDA of approximately €21 million by 2024.
Most ammonia emissions come from agriculture, in the form of a gas produced by slurry or other decomposing agricultural waste and fertilizers, or by waste from biogas plants. It can combine with other air pollutants to create very small particles, known as PM 2.5, which can be very harmful to the lungs when inhaled. Ammonia in water bodies is toxic to aquatic organisms.
In 2015, the EU agricultural sector emitted 3,751 kilotons of ammonia and was responsible for 94% of total ammonia emissions across the region. In response, the EU developed Directive 2001/81/EC, which requires EU Member States to take measures to reduce ammonia emissions from livestock.
A portable system. The EU-funded AMBIENCE project addressed this challenge by investigating a revolutionary approach for the efficient capture of ammonia from agricultural and biogas plants. “The system transforms ammonia to give ammonium sulfate, a valuable product for the manufacture of fertilizers and related products,” explains project coordinator Ricardo Romaguera. Researchers developed a novel, highly efficient, low-cost closed-loop system based on permeable membranes that captures 70% to 80% of ammonia emissions generated by animal waste and biogas plant digesters. “AMBIENCE provides a revolutionary modular portable treatment plant, allowing farmers to not only capture but also revalue ammonia, thereby reducing its environmental impacts and increasing income by more than 10%, while improving the circular economy,” explains Romaguera.
The project also accelerated the adoption and international penetration of AMBIENCE by conducting a market feasibility analysis, with a particular focus on validating the target market and its size. Researchers also conducted a competitor study, a customer and willingness-to-pay analysis, and defined the product's value chain. A technical roadmap was also developed for a viable, scalable industrial solution. Benefits for farmers.
The project will help reduce the amount of ammonia in the air from pig and poultry facilities, one of the largest sources of the pollutant. It will also reduce ammonia from anaerobically co-digested liquid animal waste in biogas plants, which contains high levels of the gas. These benefits help livestock farms and biogas operators optimize waste management costs, while remaining environmentally and economically viable and sustainable. Furthermore, AMBIENCE can be easily deployed on farms as it is portable and compact, allowing for proper waste treatment and reducing gas emissions to ensure legal compliance.
The application of the technology will drastically reduce waste treatment costs, resulting in savings of approximately €4 per cubic meter, as waste can be treated internally and legally disposed of. AMBIENCE also enables the valorization of animal and plant waste into biogas, producing ammonium sulfate as the final product, which can be sold to fertilizer manufacturers as a potential new source of revenue. "If all agricultural and livestock sectors implemented the AMBIENCE solution, more than 65% of ammonia emissions worldwide would be avoided," Romaguera concludes.
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