Gandaki Urja

Expé1 met Ravi Bhandari, manager of the NITEC program (Nepal Innovation Technology and Entrepreneirship Center) and his team at Pokhara University. They promote and support the development of business solutions for waste management and renewable energy. Ravi introduced us Gandaki Urja, the company that runs the first methanation plant in Nepal.

Methanation is a natural reaction : under anaerobic conditions (absence of dioxygen) micro-organisms degrade organic matter into a gas called methane. A biodigester fosters this reaction, and hence couples energy production (biogas) with fertilizer (fermented animal manure, or digestate). The company collects animal manure, runs the biodigester facility and sells gas and fertilizer.

Gandaki Urja is willing to extend its activity to organic waste ; negociations are ongoing with the Pokhara municipality. The recently built methanation plant has just started to operate: the biodigester is being filled and methane production should start in few months.