Biogas Project

A Step Toward Sustainability

Győri Szeszgyár és Finomító Zrt. has long been building a sustainable future. Our new biogas plant converts distillation residue into bioenergy, reducing our natural gas dependency and carbon footprint.

Our Vision

Our vision is to transform, over the coming years, from a traditional, raw-material- and energy-dependent industrial company into a modern, innovative business capable of sustainably exporting high value-added products in the long term:

• Sustainable: compliance with tightening regulations, decreasing fossil energy use, a positive and active relationship with our local community
• Prosperous: higher capacity utilization, improved material and energy efficiency, an expanding customer base and new raw material sources

About the Project

Our production process is energy-intensive and relies heavily on natural gas. The distillation residue (vinasse) generated is currently processed through energy-intensive evaporation and sold as a soil conditioner.

The planned development aims to capture the bioenergy contained in this distillation residue in the form of biogas — reducing our natural gas dependency, stabilizing energy costs, and improving the quality of the end product for agricultural use.

The technology is the result of multi-year research and development carried out between 2020 and 2025, independently validated by the University of Szeged. The unique, in-house developed solution — pursued on our own initiative, well ahead of regulatory requirements — forms the basis for extracting energy from this by-product.

Environmental and Climate Impact

• At least 16,315 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions avoided annually
• Displacing 70–80% of fossil CO₂ emissions with a sustainable energy source
• Future potential: green energy for as many as 1,000 households
• A fully closed material and energy loop: the fermented end product remains a valuable, more concentrated agricultural nutrient source, with no new waste generated
• Over recent years we have already invested approximately HUF 3 billion in environmentally conscious upgrades at our site (e.g. mash column replacement, cooling tower replacement, noise barriers, CO₂ scrubber installation, a 60% reduction in waste volume)

Benefits for the Local Community

• Reduced heavy truck traffic in the city (800–1,200 fewer truck trips per year)
• Reduced wastewater output
• Increased local and central tax revenue
• Visual and aesthetic improvement of existing storage facilities
• Preference for local contractors during construction
• Opportunity for educational and research cooperation with Széchenyi István University
• Preserving and strengthening jobs while modernizing local industry — reducing dependence on fossil fuel markets
• Positioning Győr at the global forefront of modern industrial development

Location and Implementation Timeline

The development will be built at Győri Szeszgyár’s existing production site.

Readiness: The research and development process, feasibility study, and design phase are complete. All relevant authorities gave positive feedback during preliminary consultations, full permitting has been obtained, and the City of Győr supports the development (townscape permit in place).

Timeline:

• Total implementation time: 26 months