SEaB Energy launches Kickstarter to bring AD to Indian villages
British company SEaB Energy has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help bring anaerobic digestion (AD) technology to rural India.
Southampton based SEaB Energy has patented turnkey AD installations that operate in shipping containers in a bid to make the technology compact and easy to install. The aim is to decentralise waste management while also delivering power and water “to where they are needed most.”
As SEaB CEO Sandra Sassow described in the most recent edition of Bioenergy Insight magazine, SEaB is working as part of the Berkley – Andhra Smart Village Project. Headed by the University of California Berkley and the Andhra Pradesh state government, one of the aims of the project is to provide a source of sustainable, cheap and clean energy “that is localised and can be easily implement in the thousands of villages across the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.”
SEaB wants to supply two of its Flexibusters to the project, which the company says will convert organic waste and sewage sludge into biogas for electricity generation. The systems will also provide organic, liquid fertiliser for use by local farmers or to be sold to nearby villages.
Crowdfunding
SEaB has launched its Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds to help ship two of its Flexibuster units to India, which it says will cost £120,000 (€135,000). “An extra £60,000 will allow us to add a dewatering unit to these systems. Any other amount will be used to improve the conditions of the villagers and the interaction with the system, for example, by adding a component to pre-process the food waste.”
According to the AD company, the benefits of this technology could be hugely significant for rural communities.
“We can impact village life by treating 250kg per day of organic waste plus 350kg sewage sludge, per Flexibuster. The system will capture the energy and fertiliser values in the sludge, reducing the health risks attributable to untreated sewage. This ties up with the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India Mission, a campaign that aims to clean up the streets, roads and infrastructure of India's cities, smaller towns, and rural areas.
“When adding a dewatering unit to the Flexibuster the availability of grey water will reduce the need for well water. Fertiliser costs can be greatly reduced by local production of either liquid or bagged dry fertiliser.”
SEaB has a fund raising goal of $169,655 (€136,000) for its Kickstarter. The deadline for donations is 17 March 2016. Go here to read more about the campaign.
To read Bioenergy Insight’s feature on SEaB’s involvement in the Andhra Smart Village Project, sign up for a free copy of our most recent issue here.
