Energy efficiency in agriculture

A delegation from Latin America learns about technologies for reducing emissions in the agricultural sector.

As part of the IKI project 'Smart Energy Concepts', a group of eight entrepreneurs from the Latin American agricultural and food sector visited Germany in June. The delegates from Chile, Argentina and Uruguay shared their experience on energy efficiency in agriculture with German experts. Another focus of the trip were excursions to German businesses and companies specialising in climate-friendly technologies for the food and agricultural sector. This sector plays a key role in these countries but they often lack adequate expertise to gain a foothold on the global market. The IKI project is aimed at strengthening primarily small and medium-sized enterprises, which will benefit from sharing knowledge and experiences.

During the three days, the participants discussed efficient cooling technologies, compressed air, automation, process management and measuring instrumentation, among other topics.
They also heard about some of the lessons learned from Germany's energy transformation, and the Energy Efficiency Export Initiative.

The participants visited companies such as KAESER Kompressoren, which specialises in energy-efficient air compressors. They also had the opportunity to see an industrial pig farm and learn how the ventilation of large stalls is measured and controlled using the instrumentation of Stuhl GmbH Regelsysteme, a manufacturer of control systems.

In addition, experts from industry and academia gave presentations during the delegation trip, including Jean-Christian Brunker from the Institute for Energy Economics and the Rational Use of Energy at the University of Stuttgart, Dr Christian Nannen from RIMU Agratechnologie GmbH and Felix Michel from energiewächter GmbH.

One of the participants, José Miguel Moran from AGRYD (Asociación Gremial de Riego y Drenaje), highlighted the value of not only sharing knowledge but also the networking opportunities: 'It was a very informative trip in which I not only learned about innovative technologies to optimise the use of energy, but was also able to make interesting business contacts.'

The trip was organised by the German-Chilean and German-Argentinian Chambers of Industry and Commerce together with the company energiewächter GmbH. The 'Smart Energy Concepts' project is supported with EUR 1.06 million in funding from the International Climate Initiative of the German Federal Environment Ministry (BMUB). The German-Chilean Chamber of Commerce and Industry is responsible for implementation.