The winners of the 2023 AD and Biogas Industry Awards were revealed at a gala ceremony at the Vox in Birmingham, UK, on 29th March. Run by the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) and the World Biogas Association (WBA), the Awards celebrate excellence and innovation in the global anaerobic digestion (AD) and biogas sector across 12 categories.
Chris Huhne, ADBA chairman and host for the evening, said: “Congratulations to this year’s winners and highly commended entries. The quality of the 2023 submissions made the task of the judges particularly difficult – this is reflected by the number of multiple winners in some categories – and we thank them for their dedication. Commiseration to those who did not receive a prize – they must however hold their heads up high and be proud of belonging to the crème de la crème in a vibrant and fast expanding industry. In a world in crisis, anaerobic digestion and biogas are offering mature solutions to climate change and energy and food security, with recent investments by global players signalling the growing recognition of its commercial viability as well. The future is bright for this sector so keep up the good work and we look forward to an even more successful Awards competition in 2024.”
Charlotte Morton, WBA Chief Executive, added “This is a very special year as we received an unprecedented number of entries from over 20 countries reflecting the rapidly growing interest in this exciting global industry, which alone could deliver half of the Global Methane Pledge, one third of today’s global natural gas consumption, and a 10% reduction in total global greenhouse gas emissions.
The ‘Women in Biogas’ award introduced last year has once again been the most successful. I feel very passionate about this award and whilst ADBA and WBA are doing extremely well on that front, this is not the case for most of our industry. Yet, the evidence is clear that companies which embrace diversity perform better than those that do not, so we must campaign hard to attract more women into the sector. I am also delighted to see that the new ‘Research and Innovation’ award received numerous submissions, demonstrating the innovative nature of our industry. We were also proud to introduce the Education Campaign of the Year award – highlighting a critical factor in supporting the growth of the sector.
Congratulations to all our winners, highly commended and finalists. We thank everyone for your fantastic submissions and encourage you all to continue doing what you do to make our industry shine.”
The winners and highly commended entries to the 2023 AD and Biogas industry Awards are:
1. Health, Safety and Wellbeing Award supported by SGN Commercial Services Winner: Bio Capital – London and sites across the UK, UK
Highly Commended: David Parkinson, BioteCH4 Group – Howden, UK
2. Women in Biogas Award supported by Biogen
Winner: Kathy Puffer, Biogas Education Hub – Tillson, USA Highly Commended: Lucy Hopwood, NNFCC Limited – York, UK
3. AD Hero of the Year Award supported by Future Biogas Winners:
Rede Mulheres do Biogás (Women in Biogas Network – Brazil), Sao Paulo, Brazil Dr. Thomas Henry Culhane, Solar CITIES, Inc – Land O’ Lakes, USA
Highly Commended: Yadira Bajon Fernandez, Cranfield University – Cranfield, UK
4. Best AD and Biogas Support Services (Professional)
Winner: NNFCC The Bioeconomy Consultants, NNFCC Ltd – York, UK Highly Commended: PPAYA Ltd – Lanarkshire and sites across the UK, UK
5. Best AD and Biogas Support Services (O&M Process)
Winners: Marches Biogas Ltd – Ludlow, UK REVY Environmental Solutions Pvt. Ltd – Vadodara, India
6. Net Zero Circular Solutions Winners: Energy Independent Net Zero Farming Circular Solution, Bennamann Ltd and New Holland Agriculture – UK Highly Commended: Entsorga Italia S.p.A.- Tortona, Italy
7. Education Campaign of the Year Winner: Boma Mohammed Chi, Common Initiative Group / RRECAM Group – Nkolmbende Ntouessong, Cameroon Highly Commended: Biogas Education Hub, Kathy Puffer – Tillson, USA
8. Best biogas plant below 1 Mwe-equivalent
Award supported by Alltech Winner: Bioenergy Crete – Heraklion Crete, Greece
Highly Commended: Alternity Biogas Energy (division of McCulla Ireland) – Lisburn, County Antrim, UK The best biogas to power and prom plant – KIS Group – Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
9. Best biogas plant above 1Mwe-equivalent Award supported by Blended
Winner: Warrens Emerald Biogas (The Bio Capital Group) – Newton Aycliffe, Durham, UK
Highly Commended: Anaergia’s Biomethane Plant “Easy Energia Ambiente”, Anaergia Inc – Pontinia, Italy Renevo AD plant, Norway, powered by Antec, Antec Biogas AS – Oslo, Norway
10. Micro-AD Initiative
Winner:
Micro Bio digestor Mamiña, Mecha SpA & C+ UDD – Iquique, Chile Highly Commended: Watasumi Wastewater Treatment for SME in Food and Beverage Industries – Onna-son, Japan
11. Rising Star
Award supported by Borea
Winners: Kristina Rabecaite, PPAYA – Lanarkshire, UK Muhindo Gideon, Biogas Solutions Uganda limited – Kampala, Uganda
12. Research & Innovation
Winner:
SMALLOPS – Badajoz, Spain Highly Commended:
Methane slip measurement in offgas from biogas upgrading, Vaisala Ltd (UK) and Vaisala Oyj (Global) –Birmingham, UK The batchQUBE (aka ‘Flowerpower Kenya’), Qube Renewables – Naivasha, Kenya
