New: Qualimétha, a quality label for the biogas industry
AFNOR Certification took advantage of the Biogaz Europe trade show, held in Nantes on January 29 and 30, 2020, to present a new offer for methanization professionals wishing to demonstrate the robustness of their facilities: the Qualimétha label. The Qualimétha label is based on a set of standards drawn up by the Association Technique Energie Environnement (ATEE), which hosts Club Biogaz, a cluster of professionals in this sector, which is set to expand in line with the objectives of the 2015 Energy Transition Act, the multiannual energy program and the national low-carbon strategy for 2050.
At the beginning of 2019, this “quality mark” project had been favorably received by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Solidarity, as part of its working group on methanization. ATEE then selected AFNOR Certification as one of the independent third-party bodies authorized to carry out the certification audits, following a phase of pilot audits successfully carried out in situ to test the standard. The label is aimed at the various players involved in the realization of a methanization project (engineering offices providing project management assistance, project managers, designers, builders), with the aim of inspiring the confidence of their own interlocutors, in particular their financial backers. ” In 2021, it will be included in the conditions for subsidies and funding from several industry bodies, including ADEME,” explains Marion Melix, project manager at ATEE. AFNOR Certification has audited its first customer, Solagro, an association based in Toulouse and one of the pioneers of methanization. The audit was conclusive, and ATEE issued a certificate valid for three years. ” We were looking for an objective sign attesting to the seriousness of our consultancy work in setting up methanization projects. This enhances the value of good practice, obliges us to continually improve and lends credibility to the entire sector. “says Jérémie Priarollo, methanization engineering manager at Solagro.
Qualimétha: an objective sign of quality requiring continuous improvement
The Qualimétha standard includes a wide range of criteria, covering financial, contractual and insurance engineering, as well as aspects relating to safety, risk management and the robustness of technical processes. ” The label is not intended to qualify the biogas obtained, which must meet other technical and chemical specifications ,” explains Jérémie Mella, Product Manager at AFNOR Certification. As a reminder, methanization consists in transforming organic matter placed in a heated digester by fermenting it under the action of anaerobic bacteria.
Two products emerge: digestate, a kind of compost that can be used in agriculture, and biogas, a gas cocktail composed mainly of methane that can be used for four purposes: to heat homes or industrial processes, to generate electricity, to power heavy vehicles (known as bio-GNV), and to feed the natural gas transmission and distribution network (known as biomethane). The draft EPP sets the share of gas from renewable sources in networks at 7% by 2030, as an alternative to imported fossil gas. As of July 31, 2018, France had 788 methanization facilities, producing 4 TWh/year of energy, mainly electricity(source: ATEE).
Qualimétha: an act of circular economy
Numerous local resources are suitable for treatment by methanization: agricultural and livestock by-products (slurry, manure), residues from the agri-food industry, green waste and household biowaste, sludge from wastewater treatment plants, and so on. The local nature of these materials, and the use made of the energy extracted from them, make methanization a perfect example of a short-circuit, circular economy. The arrival of a sign of quality will also ease the tensions that can arise in the vicinity of a project, as history has shown that poorly designed methanizers can generate blockages and odor nuisances.
” By offering Qualimétha, we are fulfilling our role as a trusted supplier, and responding in our own way to the urgent need to change our energy model. This label joins the AFNOR group’s energy offering, under the umbrella brand AFNOR Energies, within a range of low-carbon solutions that complement our strength and reputation: energy efficiency and energy management based on ISO 50001. “concludes Catherine Moutet, head of AFNOR Energies.
> Apply for the Qualimétha label…
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