A genuine alternative to natural gas with enormous potential
agriportance secures seed funding to replace fossil natural gas with biomethane
Biomethane start-up agriportance raises a seven-figure sum in a seed round from seed investor High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and business angels. The founding team will use the fresh money to accelerate the product’s digitalisation and its launch on the European market.
Founding team of agriportance: from left to right Henning Dicks and Thorsten Rohling
agriportance
The current energy supply crisis affects the political and ecological climate. More and more people are calling for reforms and innovations because of the skyrocketing oil and gas prices. Thanks to biogas, climate protection and security of supply can be addressed at the same time.
A genuine alternative to natural gas with enormous potential
There are about 9,500 biogas plants in Germany, distributed among various farms, which contribute about 6 % to electricity generation. After 20 years, these plants lose their fixed EEG compensation and now have to find new distribution channels. Processing the biogas and feeding it into the natural gas grid are attractive options. However, key aspects such as the greenhouse gas balance and the commercialisation are still largely unaddressed and are major challenges for the producers. Henning Dicks, Co-founder of agriportance and a farmer himself with close ties to the industry, recognised this situation very early. Together with software engineer Thorsten Rohling, he founded the Münster-based start-up in June 2021. agriportance’s product provides the digital infrastructure that enables biogas plants to produce biomethane, a green natural gas alternative.
"Biogas producers always approached us with the same two problems: firstly, the complex greenhouse gas balance and secondly, there were many questions about marketing to customers in the energy industry, who often have offices in London, Amsterdam or Paris", Henning Dicks, Co-founder of agriportance.
Funding opens up scaling potential
agriportance aims to automate the processes surrounding the complex certification of biomethane. The company is pursuing the vision of a flourishing European biomethane market. To make this possible and to gain the necessary momentum, the young company has secured seven-digit fresh capital in a seed round from HTGF and business angels. Among the investors is once again the business angel Ingo Hoff from the Münster region.
"Biomethane is an important pillar for the energy transition. agriportance convinced us with a quickly achieved product-market fit and a strong revenue growth in 2021 and 2022. Moreover, the team stands out with relevant industry experience and meets the current ‘zeitgeist’ with their solution", Christian Arndt, Senior Investment Manager at High-Tech Gründerfonds.
With the financing, agriportance aims to further develop the product and to expand internationally. From currently 11 employees, the team wants to grow to 20 in the next months. In its recruitment efforts, the young company pays particular attention to industry expertise and strong IT skills.
"With the fresh capital, we can strengthen our mission to replace a significant share of fossil natural gas in Europe with biomethane and thereby accelerate the decarbonisation of the energy sector", Henning Dicks, Co-founder of agriportance.
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