In 1996-97 Superflex has collaborated with biogas engineer Jan Mallan to construct a simple, portable biogas unit that can produce sufficient gas for the cooking and lighting needs of an African family. The system has been adapted to meet the efficiency and style demands of a modern African consumer. It is intended to match the needs and economic resources that we believe exist in small-scale economies. The orange biogas plant produces biogas from organic materials, such as human and animal stools. For a modest sum, a family will be able to buy such a biogas system and achieve self-sufficiency in energy. The plant produces approx. 3-4 cubic meters of gas per day of the dung from 2-3 cattle. This is enough for a family of 8-10 members for cooking purposes and to run one gas lamp in the evening.
Due to the innovation of a pressure equalisation system and a provocative new construction method and design, biogas technology can finally be disseminated at the gigantic markets in the rural and suburban areas around the Equator.
Many international organisations concerned with environmental and social problems have for many years hoped to find a technologically sustainable solution to the ecological problems encountered in developing countries. Deforestation, erosion and increasing workloads, as the lack of firewood makes its mark on everyday life, have all been adding to the pressure for a solution to the problems in the energy sector.
Supergas has accomplished to develop a biogas digester that can be purchased by individual families. A biogas digester is a sound and ecologically sustainable solution to present problems in energy supply, and when it can be purchased by individuals, they themselves are in control of the means on which they rely for their basic needs. Whilst being a sound investment for the people who need it, the digester is, of course, also an interesting object for investors. Factors such as deforestation put a pressure on local households, and this pressure releases a consumer demand for technical solutions.