February 2, 2025. Germany’s largest biogas producer, EnviTec Biogas AG, has been leveraging chicken manure for the production of biogas, renewable natural gas (RNG), and Bio-Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) for an impressive 23 years. The company is now actively exploring opportunities in the growing U.S. market for the anaerobic digestion of poultry manure, aligning its expertise with the increasing demand for sustainable waste-to-energy solutions.
Olaf von Lehmden, CEO of EnviTec Biogas AG knows the market potential associated with chicken farming and egg production intimately. Von Lehmden, through ventures EiPro and Deutsche Frühstücksei, is responsible for the production of approximately 7.5 million eggs per day. Recognizing the environmental and economic challenges of managing large-scale poultry operations, von Lehmden founded EnviTec Biogas to harness the multifaceted benefits of biogas as a sustainable solution for monetizing and mitigating poultry waste. By utilizing residual materials like poultry manure as feedstock for anaerobic digestion plants, the company demonstrates its commitment to innovation and sustainability.
“The market for the profitable utilization of chicken manure in biogas and gas upgrading plants is currently underdeveloped in the US” remarks Timothy Logan, President of EnviTec Biogas Construction. “Chicken manure is already a valuable fertilizer in its unprocessed state, which naturally results in less exploration of treatment via AD. Coupled with the fact that dairy manure AD plants have developed at a much faster rate due to the higher commodity value and easier digestibility of dairy manure, it’s not surprising that chicken manure AD plants have progressed more slowly.” The market potential for chicken manure in the U.S. is so significant that, combined with EnviTec’s extensive expertise in processing this specialized feedstock, several projects are already in the planning stages.
“Available research suggests there are over 30 million tons of broiler and layer manure generated in the US each year. This is an incredible figure that equates to a potential of over 400 million British thermal units (mmBtu) per day, which equals the heating demand of approximately 3.7 million homes.” adds Stefan Dehne, General Manager of EnviTec Biogas Construction. Based on current D3 RIN pricing, the market potential of the gas alone in the US approaches 4.5 billion dollars per year, the biogas expert says.
“We’re excited in the US to be buoyed by the EnviTec story in Germany. Indeed, with our innovative integration of ammonia stripping technology, we have the potential to create an additional revenue stream of ammonium sulfate in the US. When you stack this value with the gas and the nutrient dense compost from the manure, the economics begin to look particularly profitable,” Logan explains.