Regenera launches alternative fuel pilot project

Regenera, a subsidiary of Mexico-based cement giant Cemex, is establishing a pilot project to generate alternative energy that aims to turn Querétaro into the first zero-waste municipality in the country.

The project will transform Querétaro’s organic waste into alternative fuel (AF) through a drying process similar to that used in a number of European cities.

Antonio Balmori, VP of urban solutions at Cemex Mexico, stated, “This project that we started today at our Broquers Ambiental plant excites me very much because it will take the city of Querétaro to the next level in waste management, where we will seek to take advantage of 100 percent of the urban solid waste generated in the municipality."

This new process of drying organic waste, known as 'biodrying,’ will give Regenera’s Broquers Ambiental plant the capacity to produce biomass (usually from vegetable waste and decomposing food) that will later be used as an alternative fuel. This will reduce the waste sent to the landfill and therefore avoid the production of methane, a greenhouse gas which is 28 times more damaging than CO₂.

This innovative technology was developed as part of the circularity solutions arm of Regenera. Since Cemex and Regenera commissioned Broquers Ambiental three years ago, the facility has nearly tripled its waste management capacity from 8200t to 22,800t per month. This is equivalent to roughly 90 per cent of all the waste generated by Querétaro. Of this total, the plant converts more than 8000t into AF each month, which will prevent the emission of close to 12,000t of CO₂. This is equivalent to almost 1m cars stopping for one day or roughly 200,000 trees growing for 10 years.

On Tuesday, 16 July, Cemex and Regenera announced the project in the presence of Luis Bernardo Nava Guerrero, the mayor of Querétaro, among other officials. Those attending the event were able to visualise the project through the use of virtual reality.

The development of the circular and green economy by Cemex, Regenera, and Broquers Ambiental is part of Cemex’s ‘Future in Action’ initiative. This programme aims to achieve sustainable excellence through water management, biodiversity, and climate action, and sets the goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. So far in 2024, Regenera has co-processed more than 51,000t of refused-derived fuels (RDFs), in addition to reusing construction debris as part of the solutions it offers.