Aemetis launches construction of biomethane digesters

US-based biotechnology company Aemetis announced that it has initiated the construction process of its multi-dairy renewable biomethane digester cluster.

In July 2018, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) awarded two grants totalling $3 million (€2.64 million) to build two biomethane digesters at the first two dairies in Aemetis’ biogas project.

“The $3 million set of CDFA grants supports the engineering and construction of digesters at two dairies to collect waste dairy biogas,” stated Eric McAfee, chairman and CEO of Aemetis.

“The Aemetis Biogas project is an example of the public and private support created by California’s sincere commitment to stable long-term policies to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including SB 1383, Cap-and-Trade and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. These programs also demonstrate California’s strong support for the state’s vital dairy industry.”

According to Aemetis, the two grants are in addition to the recently announced $30 million equity financing for the Aemetis biogas project, of which $8 million (€7.05 million) was funded in December 2018 to launch the initial phase of designing, engineering and constructing the project.