Bioenergy Devco, the North American division of Italian biogas firm BTS Bioenergy, received a $30M investment from a subsidiary of Annapolis, Maryland-based Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, the firm announced on Monday.
The new investment allows Bioenergy Devco to move forward on more than 20 sites it's eyeing for its North American expansion, taking advantage of incoming organics recycling mandates and rising interest about the utility of anaerobic digestion as a waste disposal strategy, Shawn Kreloff, founder and CEO, told Waste Dive.
"Our whole goal was really to open up the United States for anaerobic digestion. We think it’s a great solution given the issues we have with air quality, water quality and soil quality," Kreloff said. "The good news is it’s becoming more popular here."
HASI, a firm that describes itself as an investor in climate solutions, focuses on investing in firms with neutral or negative emissions; Kreloff said the firm’s operations have negative carbon intensity.
The funding comes as nine states and Washington, D.C., have begun to implement food waste recycling laws, according to ReFED, and public support builds for removing organics from landfills.
Bioenergy Devco's first U.S. anaerobic digester opened in Jessup, Maryland, in 2021. The facility, which is the state's largest, can take in up to 110,000 tons of organics annually and serves public and private clients, according to the firm’s website.
Kreloff said Bioenergy Devco's clients are largely private, though he is open to working with the public sector as well. Among its list of opportunities, the firm is working through the permitting process for an anaerobic digester in Delaware that would receive waste from a poultry producer.
Worldwide, Bioenergy Devco's parent company has built more than 250 anaerobic digesters. But the United States is an immature market compared to Europe, Kreloff said.
He said the firm continues to receive stateside interest from public and private sources of capital alike, some of which are learning about anaerobic digestion for the first time.
"We’re trying to still educate. But a lot of people now know versus six years ago," Kreloff said. "There’s definitely funding that has sustainability goals here in the U.S. Some of that is finding its way to us."
Besides HASI, investors in Bioenergy Devco include Newlight Partners LP, Sagewind Capital LLC and Irradiant Partners.
