MK Group: Through Innovative Investments to More Efficient and Sustainable Business

Although coal is still our main energy source – as much as 2/3 of electricity in our country is obtained from coal, Serbia has great potential when it comes to renewable energy sources. That is why the focus on sustainable energy development and renewable sources is one of the priorities of MK Group, which confirms the opening of our first Biogas Plant in Vrbas “, said Zoran Stojak, Director of the Technical Sector of Sunoko, about the news that Sunoko, as part of MK Group, decided to use the waste raw materials and by-products obtained in the process of sugar beet processing for electricity production. The investment in the Biogas Plant is worth more than 9 million euros and is also one in a series by which MK Group announced a new investment cycle planned for this year.

What are the benefits of electricity from biomass? To what extent is this plant important for the entire economy, energy saving, but also the preservation of the environment?

There are currently about 30 biogas plants in Serbia and our opinion is that this is not enough to achieve energy competitiveness and keep up with the development of this sector of the economy. Green development and a focus on cleaner energy are the country’s priorities, and in that sense Sunoko is constantly finding solutions to optimize processes and contribute to that goal. With innovative investments like this, we are giving our contribution to renewable energy sources, but we are also raising the bar in achieving more efficient and sustainable business. If biogas is known to be a permanently renewable fuel, its importance for improving the country’s energy balance and preserving the environment is immeasurable. We are sure that the use of biogas from our plant, while preserving natural resources, will improve the country’s energy balance by increasing the share of renewable energy sources in total production, but also contribute to achieving the goal of the Serbian government to increase the share of energy from renewable sources to at least 40 % by 2040.

Is the Plant designed on the model of some similar facilities and what is its work process – technology?

The Biogas Power Plant in Vrbas uses a technological solution from the company Wabio Technologie GMBH from Germany, which has been creating advanced and sustainable energy solutions for a quarter of a century, and the plant itself is designed on the model of similar plants in Germany and Asia. The plant uses waste raw materials and by-products from sugar beet, from which the biogas needed for electricity production is further obtained. Unlike classic biogas plants, our plant has stations for hydrolysis, inhibition and desulfurization of gas, which achieves better utilization of methane from raw materials. The procedure of obtaining biogas is in accordance with the highest standards and the latest solutions for the production of this type of fuel. The Plant we opened has a capacity of electricity production of 2.4 MW / hour, so it will provide annual electricity needs of about 5,000 households.