At the same time, Africa faces a power supply gap exceeding 600 TWh annually, while importing USD 10–15 billion per year in diesel and synthetic fertilizers. Biomass directly links these challenges: it is a domestic energy source, a fertilizer substitute, and a climate-finance asset. This is the foundation of the CleanBreeze Biogas Solutions project.
The biomass opportunity
- 1 tonne of organic waste can produce 100–200 m³ of biogas, equivalent to 200–400 kWh of electricity, depending on feedstock quality.
- Anaerobic digestion (AD) of wet organic waste reduces emissions by 1–2 tCO₂e per tonne processed by capturing methane that would otherwise be released.
- AD produces digestate, a nutrient-rich organic fertilizer that improves soil structure and water retention—critical in a region where over 60% of soils are degraded.
- Organic fertilizer can replace 20–40% of imported synthetic fertilizer demand at farm level while lowering costs for smallholders.
These metrics make biomass one of the few solutions that simultaneously addresses energy access, urban sanitation, food security, and climate mitigation.
What CleanBreeze is doing differently
CleanBreeze is not a single waste plant; it is a replicable biomass infrastructure platform designed for African urban and agro-industrial contexts.
1) Securing high-quality biomass feedstock
The project works with municipalities, markets, slaughterhouses, and agro-processors to map and contract reliable organic waste streams. Priority is given to high-moisture, high-methane-yield waste, which dominates African cities and is poorly suited to incineration.
2) Improving collection and segregation
CleanBreeze integrates structured collection routes, transfer points, and source-segregation incentives to reduce contamination. Contamination control is critical—every 10% increase in contamination can reduce gas yield by up to 15%.
3) Industrial anaerobic digestion
CleanBreeze deploys digesters optimized for mixed organic waste, stabilizing biogas output through feedstock blending (e.g., market waste + manure). This improves plant uptime and methane yield.
4) Energy production and displacement
Captured biogas is converted into:
- Grid-connected electricity, supporting national power systems
- Industrial biogas, replacing diesel and heavy fuel oil for factories and processing plants
Each MW of biogas power can displace 3–4 million liters of diesel per year, cutting operating costs and emissions.
5) Organic fertilizer and soil recovery
Digestate is processed into solid and liquid organic fertilizers for commercial farms, cooperatives, and outgrower schemes. This closes the nutrient loop and supports agricultural productivity near urban centers.
6) Carbon finance integration
CleanBreeze embeds monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems from project inception. Methane avoidance and renewable energy generation create eligibility for high-integrity carbon credits, improving project bankability and attracting climate finance.
Scale and impact
At full deployment, CleanBreeze targets the processing of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of organic biomass annually, delivering:
- 100+ GWh of clean electricity per year
- 300,000+ tonnes of organic fertilizer
- Millions of tonnes of CO₂e avoided over the project life
- Thousands of direct and indirect jobs across waste collection, plant operations, and fertilizer distribution
Why this matters for Africa
By 2050, Africa’s urban population will double, and organic waste volumes will grow accordingly. Without intervention, waste-related methane emissions will rise sharply. CleanBreeze demonstrates how biomass can be transformed from a municipal cost burden into bankable climate infrastructure—reducing emissions, improving cities, strengthening food systems, and lowering energy costs.
Biomass is not a future technology for Africa. It is a present, scalable solution, and CleanBreeze is structured to deliver it at the scale required.