MEMBER PRESS RELEASE - Verdant Biotech and Biopract ABT enter partnership to support UK and Irish AD

Posted on 18 Aug, 2020 by Jocelyne Bia

MEMBER PRESS RELEASE - Verdant Biotech and Biopract ABT enter partnership to support UK and Irish AD market

Verdant Biotech, the Harrogate-based supplier of enzymes for anaerobic digestion (AD) plants, has entered into a partnership with German company Biopract ABT to bring their range of enzyme products to the UK and Republic of Ireland's market and help operators boost their plant's productivity and efficiency.

Since 2001, Biopract has been intensively involved in the development of enzymes to increase the performance of biogas processes and has been a pioneer in this field ever since.  One of their products, UltraPract P2, has been proven to increase the energy yield/tonne of organic dry matter and improve plant efficiency by 11%, as well as generate significant operational cost savings.   The company, which already has a strong presence in Italy as well as Germany, has its own laboratory and can produce unique, patent-protected enzymes products to optimise AD plants' operations.

Verdant Biotech is a consultancy which supplies enzymes and expertise to AD operators that use animal waste - notably cow and pig manure – and energy crops as feedstock.  Its Founder and Director, Hans Erik Gording (pictured, left), a graduate in Chemistry from the University of Bristol, has specialised in enzyme applications in biogas, biofuel and food applications for a number of years in the UK, Benelux and Nordic markets. He has been responsible for partnerships with distributors across Central and Western Europe. 

He said: "Anaerobic digestion makes a substantial contribution to reducing the UK's dependence on fossil fuels. It has the potential to significantly contribute to decarbonising the UK's economy, providing 30% of the carbon savings required to meet the UK’s legally binding targets for 2030 set in the 5th Carbon Budget. This will help the UK to catch up and get back on track to meeting its Net Zero by 2050 objective and will be done by utilising agricultural farm waste to generate green energy and fertiliser to complete the circular economy. 

I am hugely excited to be working with Biopract ABT who have a fantastic portfolio of industry leading enzymes to really help plants achieve their maximum potential through improved yield, improved process and an improved economy.  Biopract ABT are an innovative and established research-based company that have a demonstrated and extensive technical expertise, providing support to their many customers and partners in Germany and Italy."

Following their involvement in Italy, Biopract ABT have recognised the benefits of collaborating with a local business to enter an international market.  They were delighted to find Verdant Biotech as their UK and Republic of Ireland partner.  

Biopract ABT's Marketing Manager, Leonie Pheiffer (pictured right with Application Specialist Philipp Liebsch), commented: "From experience we know that working together with a competent local partner is the best approach to successfully establish a presence in a new market. It enables us to not only offer our new customers novel and effective enzyme solutions for their AD plants but also provide them with excellent local support. With Hans Erik Gording from Verdant Biotech, we are certain to have found the right partner to bring our expertise to the British market. With his in-depth knowledge of enzyme applications in various industrial fields, Hans Erik will be able to competently support British customers in applying our products.”

- ENDS -

For further information, contact:
 

Verdant Biotech
Hans Erik Gording, Director and Founder
email: hgording@verdantbiotech.com; tel: +44 7526 617572
www.verdantbiotech.com
 

 

Biopract ABT
Leonie Pheiffer, Marketing Manager
email: l.pheiffer@biopract-abt.de; tel: +49 30 6670 2056
www.biopract-abt.de 
 

Notes to editors

• About biogas enzymes

Enzymes are proteins extracted from  bacteria and fungi, nature’s biocatalysts, that greatly speed up the rate of reaction with each molecule typically completing thousands of reactions per second for the duration of the biogas fermentation process.  Plant material is difficult to breakdown as the materials in them, e.g. cellulose and hemicellulose, are often those that provide structure and strength to plant cell walls. Enzymes with the right activities can attack these structures and break them down into smaller components that make the digestate less viscous and far more digestible by the anaerobic bacteria to allow a higher conversion into biogas and allow for a smoother, more complete and more energy efficient fermentation.

• About Biopract ABT's enzyme products

Biopract ABT’s enzyme portfolio is designed to work on a range of different feedstocks to provide operational stability, reduction in energy consumption and significant increases in yield for specific substrate blends. 

o UltraPract® - more dung, less corn! 
This product series is designed to work in biogas plants utilising any amounts of animal waste in their substrate mix. It increases the biogas yield by up to 15%, reduces the amount of digestate and the plant’s energy consumption due to hydrolysis and viscosity reduction of the substrate.

o ViscoPract® - the acute problem solver significantly reduces the fermenter viscosity and thereby noticeably improves stir-ability. It further dissolves severe floating layers which would otherwise only be remedied by mechanical intervention. This allows fermentations to continue and the biogas yield realised.

o MethaPract® - the all-rounder optimizes the utilization of energy plants and works effectively on a wide range of feeding grasses and cereal silages, irrespective of the substrate mix. It accelerates the degradation of plant fibres, improves stir-ability in plants, prevents the formation of floating layers and provides an increased yield, typically between 5 to 8% of biogas. 

• A 2MW anaerobic digestion plant in North Rhine Westphalia
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   

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