The ATH Bioenergy project, backed by a strategic investment from Suma Capital (owner of 80% of the capital) and the Swiss company Tibanna AG (with the remaining 20%), stands as a fundamental pillar for sustainability and the circular economy in southern Gran Canaria. The main objective of this initiative, which is currently under development, is to convert the organic waste generated by the area's powerful hotel industry into valuable biomethane and high-quality agricultural fertilizers.
The ATH Bioenergy biodigestion plant project in Gran Canaria and Tenerife, the first semi-dry digestion biogas plants in the Canary Islands, relies on the experience and expertise of Insiteca Ingenieros SLP. This firm is fully responsible for the project, coordinating health and safety requirements, and providing construction management and supervision, ensuring that these state-of-the-art infrastructures meet the highest technical and environmental standards. Insiteca Ingenieros is led by its CEO, Aniceto González Delgado, a professional with a solid track record as an Industrial Technical Engineer, Senior Technician, and Occupational Risk Prevention Auditor, ensuring a rigorous approach at every stage of construction. The images that allow us to visualize the progress of this initiative come from both ATH Bioenergy and Insiteca Ingenieros itself, showing the progress of a project that is marking a milestone in sustainable engineering in the archipelago.
Southern Gran Canaria, with its dense concentration of tourist establishments, is a massive generator of organic waste. Traditionally, much of this waste ends up in landfills, representing an environmental problem and a missed opportunity. ATH Bioenergy, with the Arinaga plant as its flagship, seeks to reverse this situation. Once operational, the Arinaga plant will have the capacity to process up to 31.000 tons of organic waste annually, generating approximately 4.000 tons of compost (solid fertilizer) and approximately 2.200 tons of biomethane. In addition, water will be regenerated for agricultural and industrial use. It will reduce dependence on synthetic fertilizers, and an estimated ten direct jobs and more than 60 indirect jobs will be created in Arinaga, in addition to those generated by future plants.
Hotels, restaurants, and cafes in the south of the island will be the main suppliers of raw materials for this plant. This is a true circular economy: the waste produced by the tourism sector is transformed into energy and resources that, in turn, can be used by the industry itself (in the form of biomethane for boilers or stoves) or by the local agricultural sector, thus completing a virtuous cycle. This also includes other important inputs such as supermarket waste, pruning and grass clippings, and specific waste from banana production, a signature crop of the Canary Islands.
As of June 2025, the ATH Bioenergy project in Arinaga is in the active construction phase. The foundation stone of this infrastructure, located in the Arinaga Industrial Zone (Agüimes), was laid in May 2024, in the presence of prominent local and regional authorities, underscoring the project's strategic importance. The Arinaga plant, which is the first of four planned in the Canary Islands (the others in Tenerife, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote), is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2026. This is an ambitious schedule, but one that is being met, given the pressing need to manage this waste and produce clean energy.
