WELTEC BIOPOWER’s Ireland biomethane plant set to start operations mid-2026

German manufacturer WELTEC BIOPOWER is building a biomethane plant for Irish company Evergreen Agricultural Enterprises Limited.
The facility, located at Evergreen’s headquarters in Monasterevin, County Kildare, is scheduled to begin operations in mid-2026, following an 11-month construction period.
The site benefits from good transport links, including proximity to the M7 motorway, and is close to the national gas network for direct biomethane injection, according to Patrick Meade, Managing Director of Evergreen.
The €50 million project includes four digesters and one stainless-steel secondary digester, each with a volume of 4,900 cubic metres.
The plant will mainly process residues and by-products from the Irish beer and whiskey industries. These materials are not suitable for animal feed, so there is no competition with livestock production.
Three additional tanks will store liquid substrates. With an annual processing capacity of 165,000 tonnes, the plant’s construction is expected to be completed in six months of active building work, with mechanical completion due by the end of this year.
A combined heat and power (CHP) plant on site will generate around 1 megawatt of power for operations and provide heat for the digesters.
The plant will use a combination of long-axis and submersible agitators to support digestion. Biogas collected in digesters with double-membrane roofs will be processed into biomethane via membrane technology and injected into the public gas grid, located 20 metres from the plant.
Once operational, the facility is expected to produce around 1,300 standard cubic metres of biomethane per hour, equivalent to about 110 GWh per year. Digestate output of 65,000 tonnes annually will be stored in a covered concrete lagoon and supplied to farmers as liquid and solid fractions.
The plant is the largest of its kind in Ireland, according to the company.
Managing director Patrick Meade noted that WELTEC BIOPOWER was selected partly for its technical expertise and short delivery times.